Shootout out leaves 10 dead in Kachin State town of Mohnyin

Ten people were killed after two rival armed groups opened fire on each other at a bar in the Kachin State town of Mohnyin on Tuesday, according to a local source. The victims included six members of the Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA)—a group allied with Myanmar’s military junta—and one member of the anti-regime Kachin People’s Defence Force (PDF). A police officer, a businessman, and the bar’s manager were also among the dead, a local man told Myanmar Now. “There were some members of the Shanni group, a policeman, and a businessman at the bar when the shooting started. The shootout began when they returned fire,” the man said. “Nine people in the bar were killed, along with one member of the Kachin PDF,” he added. Two SNA members were also taken to the hospital with injuries. One of them reportedly had to have his leg amputated. Security has been tightened in the town since the incident, according to the man. “The streets of Mohnyin are full of SNA members and junta soldiers right now. They have teamed up to carry out checks and make arrests,” he said. Mohnyin, located about 100 miles southwest of the state capital Myitkyina, is home to several junta combat and artillery battalions. In September, a joint force of Kachin Independence Army and Kachin PDF troops captured several junta bases in Mohnyin Township near the border with neighbouring Hpakant Township. The SNA, formed in 1989, operates in northern Sagaing Region and southern Kachin State. After the February 2021 coup, the group initially offered training to young people who wanted to fight the newly installed regime. Months later, however, it aligned itself with the junta. Since September of last year, the SNA has been vying with PDF groups for control of villages along the Uyu River in Sagaing Region’s Homalin Township.

Shootout out leaves 10 dead in Kachin State town of Mohnyin

Security has been tightened in the town after six members of the junta-aligned Shanni Nationalities Army were killed in the incident

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