Burma's armed forces exchanged gunfire with forces loyal to the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) in northern Shan state recently, according to residents.
The fighting first broke out at Loi Lawm. Another clash followed at Loi Dang near Mungbaw in Muse Township, according to a Pangsai (Kyukok) villager. The clashes were fought between the Burma army’s Light Infantry Battalion 578 and Kachin forces based in the Mongkoe area that are affiliated with the group's military wing the Kachin Independence Army ‘s 4th Brigade, according to KIA sources. Both a KIA Battalion 38 soldier and a soldier from the KIO aligned Mungshawa Kanawn Mazum militia were killed at Loi Lawm.
Local eyewitnesses told the Kachin News Group that shortly after the clashes they saw Burmese troops transporting the corpses of four of their comrades.
Tensions are increasing around Pangsai since a Burma Infantry Battalion 69 column of 60 soldiers arrived last Thursday , said the Kachin Mungshawa Hpyen Hpung (MHH) militia Commander Zau Seng.
Recent troop movements indicate that the Burma government is planning to drive out all KIA forces in the Mongkoe area. The area is the former territories of the now defunct Communist Party of Burma (CBP), Zau Seng said.
