New Burma Army Attacks in Northern Shan State

As the world celebrates Christmas, villagers in northern Burma have fled their their homes in fear Burma Army attacks.

Burma Army offensives are underway in northern Shan State, with reports of a village being torched and civilians being used as forced labourers and guides.

The Shan Human Rights Foundation, an ethnic community based organisation monitoring human rights abuses in Shan State, said that Burma Army soldiers torched a Ta’ang village in mid-November.

SHRF said that as many as 150 Burma Army soldiers from 88th division accused locals in the village of assisting the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), an ethnic armed group at war with the Burma Government, following the armed skirmish with the TNLA soldiers the Burma Army torched the village.

During the conflict a civilian from the village who was being used as a forced guide was shot. It is unclear whether this was the result of crossfire between TNLA and Burma Army forces.

SHRF reported that of the 35 houses in the village, 14 were burned down.