A woman is shot in the leg as the forces exchange gunfire near a market in Kyaukme Township.

A woman was shot and injured when the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) ambushed a Burma Army military column in northern Shan State’s Kyaukme Township on Saturday.

The attack occurred in the town of Mong Ngor—the victim, 50-year-old Nang Kham Hla, was hit in the leg by a bullet while going to the market.

The TNLA launched a surprise attack on the military column—reportedly a medic unit with 10 soldiers—at around 10:00 a.m. on March 9 as they were headed to the office of the Union Solidarity and Development Party. The two forces exchanged fire for around 10 minutes.

“[Nang Kham Hla] got a gunshot injury to her thigh. She has been admitted to Kyaukme hospital. Her injuries are not critical, but many people are scared because the shooting occurred downtown,” U Maung Thein, who is working with the Kyaukme-based Ziwita Social Volunteer Association, told SHAN.

Locals say that Mong Ngor has changed because of the intensification of armed conflict in the area. Plans to hold an initiation ceremony for novice monks has been canceled, and people in the town have called for a halt to the fighting.

The Burma Army, members of the Northern Alliance—including the TNLA—and the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army are active in the territory around Mong Ngor.