Stalemate as MNDAA and government fighting continues

An impasse in the violence between ethnic armies and Burmese government forces in Burma’s northernmost states continues as more fighting is reported by the Kokang rebel group the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA).

MNDAA spokesperson Tun Myat Linn told DVB that the Burmese army had been shelling their positions.

“The fighting was still carrying on as of midnight on 31 May in an area north of the Nan Tien Men hills,” he said.

Meanwhile, a KIA official told DVB that members of the group’s 4^th Brigade in northern Shan State have also been engaging in sporadic and brief firefights with government forces.

“There had been no major encounters but our forces have had some engagements in Kachin State and also northern Shan State in areas in which the 4^th Brigade are active.

“Since we have no truce agreement with the government, fighting can easily break out when there’s activity from either side,” said the source.

The Burmese military Commander-in-Chief Senior-Gen Min Aung Hlaing on 30 May said that the Burmese army are facing an enemy which “threatens the sovereignty of the country” and deals in the “trade of natural resources and drug traffickers”. However, government troops are not targeting ethnic populations, he told a meeting of senior military officials.