A series of intense clashes this week broke out in northern Shan State’s Nawnghkio (Naung Cho) Township between resistance forces and the military.
The fighting, which began on April 5 and continued through Tuesday, was between the junta and the Mandalay People’s Defence Force (MDY-PDF); the resistance group is named for the neighbouring region and operating in Nawnghkio with the support of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), an ethnic armed organisation.
MDY-PDF spokesperson Ko Osmond told Myanmar Now that the battles had begun around Ho Kho village but had spread throughout the township, some lasting for minutes, and others ongoing for entire days.
He said that the Myanmar army had fired heavy weapons at his forces, including 81mm mortars, 120mm long-range artillery, and 155mm missiles, and that there had been casualties on both sides.
“The military launched five airstrikes on April 10 alone,” Ko Osmond said on Tuesday. “Weapons fire from the aircrafts didn’t stop even after midnight. There were some casualties in our group, but more than 30 junta personnel were killed on just that day.”
Myanmar Now is unable to independently confirm the number of troops killed.
Local news outlets confirmed the recent fighting, reporting that locals from several villages had fled their homes to the relative safety of the township’s administrative centre.
Two children were killed when a junta shell hit a civilian house in the village of Than Bo on April 5, according to the Shan Herald Agency for News, which identified the victims as 11-month-old Sai Wah Wah Tun and 14-year-old Nang Ma Aye. Their parents were injured and hospitalised.
MDY-PDF has been conducting collaborative operations in Nawnghkio with the TNLA, and also attacking junta targets in Mandalay.
