Clashes between junta troops and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and its allies have forced thousands of people living in the town of Hsipaw in northern Shan State to flee over the weekend, according to relief workers and displaced residents.
The exodus began after the TNLA-led forces, which have been waging an ongoing offensive across the region since late June, launched attacks on the regime’s Infantry Battalion (IB) 23 base, located about one mile north of the town’s centre, on Saturday.
Since then, around a third of the town’s population has fled, according to a representative of the Tai Youth Humanitarian Assistance Committee, a local social welfare group.
While some have taken shelter in the surrounding area, many others have fled to southern Shan State or neighbouring Mandalay Region, he added.
Hsipaw is strategically located along a major trading route between Kyaukme, a town. . .
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