Burma Army Attacks and Loots Village in Muse Township

Burma Army Attacks and Loots Village in Muse Township
by -
S.H.A.N

The Burma Army reportedly shot and robbed local people on Tuesday evening in a village seven miles from the Burma-China border gate in Muse Township, Northern Shan State, according to local witnesses.

Burma Army Battalion No. 99 from Pang Zai fired artillery at Wan Kong Weng Village in Maw Tong Sub-Township at about 5 p.m. on Tuesday 22 September, allegedly claiming that they were searching for Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) forces.

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Witnesses reported that soldiers first fired artillery into the surrounding forest and then began targeting houses. Over 10 houses were damaged or destroyed in the attack, but only one person was reported injured, as most residents were away working.

“It was fortunate that no one was in the houses,” said a Kong Weng resident who witnessed the incident. “Now the house owners are very afraid to stay.” He added that some have left the area to go stay with relatives elsewhere in Muse Township.

The same source added that a local woman, Nang Thi Thi Kyaing, who was driving by at the time of the attack, suffered a gunshot wound to her right leg.

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After the artillery fire, witnesses reported that Burma Army soldiers entered the village and looted local houses.

One local man, age 60, was at home when the troops came into his house. A soldier allegedly hit him with a gun and then stole his savings of 50,500 Chinese yuan and 1.5 million kyats (approximately $10,000 USD in total).

Another household reportedly lost 1 million kyats ($800 USD) worth of property and goods in the attack.

There were reports of another clash between the Burma Army and the TNLA in nearby Ton Karng Village at noon on the same day

The TNLA Information Department also reported that there was further fighting between Burma Army Battalion No. 77 and TNLA Army Battalion No. 367 yesterday evening between Yae Pong and Marn Zawm villages, in Mongmit Township, Northern Shan State.

The TNLA army is one of the six ethnic armed groups which remain excluded from the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), the first formal step in Burma’s peace process. The NCA is slated to be signed during the first week of October.

By SAI AW / Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N)

Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI

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