The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) fought with junta forces in the first days of the new year in northern Shan State.
According to Col Naw Bu, spokesperson for KIA's political wing, the Kachin Independence Organisation, Kachin soldiers clash with the Burma Army (BA) on 2 January when 100 soldiers from its Light Infantry Division 99 attacked KIA Brigade 6 in the area it controlled in Muse District.
The KIO spokesperson confirmed that tensions between the MNDAA and BA also increased after they clashed in another part of northern Shan State on the same day.
According to Kokang media, the MNDAA fought BA soldiers in several places in the Mongkoe area near the Chinese border in recent days. From 31 December to 1 January, violence broke out in Kyeinkyar Kyeik village and Hpouk Yangkyi area. The regime also attacked the Kokang army's camps with artillery.
According to Kachin News Group, BA and KIA fought in Seng Phara village in Hpakant Township on 4 January and the regime abducted two civilians, but Col Naw Bu could not confirm this information.
Fighting that intensified after the military staged a coup almost a year ago on 1 February 2021, has continued into 2022. The conflict between ethnic armed groups and many civilian resistance groups in Shan, Kachin, Karenni, Karen and Chin states, as well as in Sagaing Region, continues.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, over 200,000 people have been displaced since the military overthrew the government. Before that, 370,000 people had already been forcibly displaced. Volunteers helping them say they need emergency aid, but fighting, pandemic restrictions and the regime actively blocking support to the camps have hampered relief efforts for the displaced civilians, many of whom have not been home for months.
