Namhsan villagers flee as clashes continue between TNLA and Burmese army
More than 200 civilians in northern Shan State’s Namhsan
Township fled their homes this week due to ongoing hostilities between Burma’s
armed forces and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), according to a local
aid worker.
Sai Ba Nyan, the vice-chairman of
the local aid committee in Namtu Township, east of Namhsan, said that 242
people from 68 households abandoned their homes and fled two days ago. Most of
them are children and the elderly.
“They are now sheltering in Pokparyong temple in
Namtu,” he said. “We are helping as best we can, but it can only be a
short-term solution. If the fighting continues and they cannot return home, we
will need to rely on help from aid groups.”
According
to an August 8 report by the TNLA’s News and
Information Department,
a clash broke out earlier this
week between the TNLA’s battalion 919 and Burmese army division 77 in Khur
Khuen village tract in Namhsan Township.
In May, more than 300 residents in Namtu Township fled their
homes due to a series of clashes between
Burmese government forces and the TNLA.
Clashes between the Burmese army,
the TNLA and the Restoration Council of Shan State/ Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA)
are regularly reported in this area.
The TNLA was among six armed groups
excluded from signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in 2015 with the
then ruling government led by President Thein Sein.
Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
Tags: Human Rights, News, War
