Muse Villagers Frustrated With Fighting Between Armed Groups
By Network Media Group
Tuesday, December 27, 2022
The villagers of Muse want all armed groups in the district to stop fighting near their villages because stray shells sometimes destroy houses and kill civilians when the violence starts.
The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), also known as the Kokang Army, clashed with regime forces in Ho Pan in Mongkoe sub-township on 21 December and shells landed in Weing Hseng, which is close to the battle site in northern Shan State.
“No houses have been damaged or villagers injured by shelling, but we are very worried about our safety,” a man from Weing Hseng has told NMG on condition of anonymity. “If the armed organisations want to fight…they can do it somewhere else, far away from the villages.”
He said government soldiers are staying next to Samar, close to where the clashes took place, but he could not say where the MNDAA was.
Between 7 and 13 December, regime forces launched air and ground strikes on the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) near Kon Tha in Namhsan Township. Artillery shelling and other airstrikes destroyed almost all the houses, including the Buddhist monastery, in the village in northern Shan State. Most of the residents had fled before the attacks started.
A man who returned after the fighting subsided has commented, “We feel terrible to witness the destruction in our village…We certainly do not want to face such a situation ever again.”
TNLA, MNDAA and Arakan Army (AA) are members of Three Brotherhoods Alliance. The AA was fighting with the regime in Rakhine State until a recent informal ceasefire was brokered.
