Over 500 internally displaced people fled and took refuge at a monastery following clashes between the Tatmadaw and the Shan State Progressive Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) in Hsipaw Township on 13 November, according to a local source.
The two forces - a platoon of LIB-505 under the Government’s Military Operations Command (MOC) 1 and a troop of SSPP/SSA - had clashed at noon on 13 November between Nar-ma-kor village and Nar-lot village adjacent to the Nar-ma-kor village-tract. Due to the fighting, more than five hundred villagers had to leave their places and took refuge at the monastery.
“The armed-clashes lasted for forty-five minutes and then two rival troops retreated respectively. It seemed the government troops entered into the jungle where SSPP/SSA soldiers stationed. Then they met face to face and shot each other. Therefore, the villagers daren’t live around there and they fled. Hey ran away to Namlam and meinkhai. They also escaped to Nar-ohn village monastery,” a local youth told the Shan Herald for Agency News (SHAN).
The youth, who has been working voluntarily for the IDPs at the monastery, said that there are around 200 refugees still staying in the monastery. On Thursday morning, some villagers returned to their villages, but some daren’t go home as the situation did not stable. Most of the villagers want to go home if the situation seems fine.
Currently, there are over 260 villagers from Wan-nar and Nar-lot villages taking refuge at the Nar-ohn village monastery, as said by the local sources.
Nar-ohn village is in the Saekhan village-tract where Tatmadaw, SSPP/SSA and RCSS/SSA soldiers patrolled actively. Last week, there were armed clashes between the RCSS/SSA troops and the Northern Alliance troops. As a result, hundreds of villagers came to the Nar-ma-kor village monastery and then they’ve just returned to respective villages.
