The sound of gunfire around 20 miles south of Hsipaw town leaves villagers concerned for their safety.
Villagers are on high alert following the sound of gunshots on Tuesday morning near the community of Lon Waing in Hsipaw Township.
According to a resident from nearby Kong Sawt village in the same tract, guns were heard at about 7:00 a.m. between Lon Waing and Nawng Loung, about 23 miles southeast of Hsipaw town.
“Now the guns are silent. I don’t know exactly which armed organizations are fighting. It’s likely the two Shan armed forces,” said Lon Sai, a 50-year-old man from Kong Sawt, referring to the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) and the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA).
The SSPP’s information department reported clashes in Hsipaw with the RCSS on their Facebook page, alleging that they involved more than 200 RCSS soldiers.
SHAN was not able to confirm if there were any casualties.
At the time of reporting, there remain more than 700 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Hsipaw’s Ner Makhaw monastery from previous fighting. A volunteer told SHAN that the IDPs are afraid to return to their homes because of continued military tension between armed groups in the area.
