Artillery shells destroyed a residential house while the coup Military Council troops and Kachin Independence Army (KIA) joint forces clashed again in Mantong Township in Northern Shan State.

Residents told Shan Herald that fighting broke out between the coup Military Council and the KIA/PDF joint forces around 10:30AM of October 4 near Mantong Township.

“There was a battle between 130th Infantry Division of the Military Council and KIA/PDF yesterday. A residential house in Myoma Ward was destroyed by the artillery shells indiscriminately fired by the Military. But there were no casualties because the locals had already fled the war”, a Mantong resident told Shan Herald.

Both sides suffered casualties during the two-hour long battle, but the exact number is not known yet.

Currently, the locals from Mantong and nearby areas are also fleeing the war toward Namtu and Lashio, according to the above person.

“Local people loaded on about 40 cars and buses were fleeing yesterday evening and today. Some went to Namtu and some headed to Lashio where their relatives lived. For today, we don’t hear any gunshots yet”, he said.

An official from the refugee camp in Kyusot Village in Namtu told the Shan Herald that local authorities issued a statement to instruct the displaced people taking refuge in the camp to return to their homes before October 15.

“According to the statement, about 40 families fleeing the war since 2016 will have to return home before October 15. Some families came from villages in Mantong. Currently, more displaced people are arriving at the camp due to the battles in their hometown. How can they go back?”, he said.

Local authorities installed by the Military Council ordered families from Pankaw, Lwe-spate, Lwe-kan and Lwe-an Villages to return home. The area where these villages are located is currently experiencing rising military tensions.