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Military shelling kills villager in Muse Township

There were no battles after air and artillery attacks on villages in northern Shan State, which were likely aimed at the Ta’ang National Liberation Army or other anti-junta forces active in the area

A civilian was killed by junta shelling south of the Milestone 105 Commercial Zone in Muse Township, northern Shan State on Tuesday morning, according to local sources. 

Military aircraft carried out air assaults near the villages of Nam Aum, Hseng Hkawng and Kawng Wein, all located a few miles south of the commercial zone on the Muse-Lashio road, for around 10 minutes.

Ground troops of Infantry Battalion 241 and Light Infantry Division 99 also fired heavy artillery into the area from Nam Aum,some of which fell in the village of Hseng Hkawng, destroying several houses and killing local resident Aik Law, 40.

“The aircraft were flying low, near the village. Villagers took shelter in the monastery. Just after the aircraft flew away, the shelling started. A man sheltering in his house was killed by a shell. We still haven’t arranged anything for his funeral,” a Hseng Hkawng local said on Tuesday afternoon. 

A video showed the body of Aik Law, who died from blood loss, and shrapnel from the artillery shell scattered around his house.

The body of Aik Law (Supplied)

A member of the armed resistance confirmed that a special assault commando force of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) was operating near Hseng Hkawng village at the time of the air and artillery strikes. However, the number of TNLA casualties could not be confirmed. 

Junta forces also detained several men and women living in Kawng Wein for questioning and appeared to be making preparations for an attack on Hseng Hkawng village, prompting the residents to flee to nearby farms and forests. 

At the time of reporting, no fighting had broken out between the junta and TNLA forces. 

However, junta and allied forces have clashed frequently with ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) in northern Shan State in recent weeks. 

Before the air attack and the shelling that killed Aik Law, junta artillery units stationed at the Milestone 105 Commercial Zone and in Nam Hpat Kar village, Kutkai Township fired several shells into Nam Aum at around 2am on Tuesday, damaging several shops in Nam Aum market.

Junta forces and members of an allied militia fired heavy artillery in an attack on TNLA troops conducting security checks on the Muse-Namkham highway in Namkham Township on Sunday evening, leading to an hour-long battle.

The site targeted by the military is near a temporary junta base outside Kawng Yar village in Kutkai Township, which was briefly taken over by the Kachin Independence Army this month. It is also near territory where the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, an ethnically Kokang armed group that has also recently fought with the junta, is currently operating. 

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