300 villagers displaced as Burmese army, TNLA clash in Namtu
A series of clashes between Burmese government forces
and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) have compelled some 300
villagers in Namtu Township, northern Shan State, to flee their homes.
 |
| Photo by Tai Tiger- Villagers were fleeing their homes to Namtu town on May 11. |
“Our people had to abandon their homes because of
the fighting,” said Nang Jarm Hom, an MP from the Shan Nationalities League for
Democracy (SNLD) representing Namtu Township Constituency No. 2. “Around 300 fled
to Namtu town on May 11 from Zaikhao tract.”
They are now staying at Shwe Minta Temple, she added.
“The only thing we can do now is use the food that
was previously donated to take care of them,” Nang Jarm Hom told Shan Herald.
“But we need humanitarian support because the villagers who fled fighting in
Mantong Township last year are still here. Now more refugees are pouring in.
They need help. They need supplies.”
The TNLA recently posted on its News and Information Department website
that fighting broke out in Namtu, Mongmit, Kutkai and Mantong
Township between its troops, the Burmese army and the Restoration Council of
Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA).
The TNLA, also known as the Palaung
Army, was among six armed
groups – alongside the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA); Arakan
Army (AA); Lahu Democratic Union (LDU); Arakan National Congress (ANC); and Wa
National Organization (WNO) - that was excluded from signing the Nationwide
Ceasefire Agreement in 2015 with the then ruling government led by President
Thein Sein.
According to Myanmar Peace Monitor,
in 2016 a total of 309 clashes broke out between the Burmese armed forces and
TNLA troops in northern Shan State.
On
April 10, Shan Herald reported that three
villagers were reportedly killed
amid fighting between the TNLA and government forces in Kyaukme Township. And earlier this month, an old woman was shot dead and three
others injured in Namkham Township. Both
incidents occurred in northern Shan State.
“We can’t do anything with this fighting
going on,” said Shan lawmaker Nang Jarm Hom. “We are helping the villagers as
much as we can. But what we really need is an end to these hostilities.”
By Shan Herald Agency for News
(SHAN)
Tags: Human Rights, News, War
