Troops from the government forces and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) exchanged heavy gunfire in the Mong Yaw area of Lashio Township on Tuesday morning, causing locals to seek refuge elsewhere.

The conflict broke out just before 9:00 a.m., and people in the area described both hearing weapons being fired and encountering soldiers; the number of casualties in the clashes is as of yet unknown.

“We heard the sound of guns shooting in Loi Pang Phe village in southern Mong Yaw. They clashed on the mountain range. Soldiers from both troops entered the village and the villagers fled,” Mong Yaw local Sai Fa told SHAN, adding that many of the displaced were staying in the homes of relatives.

The mountain range that Sai Fa spoke of is eight miles south of Mong Yaw and is populated by ethnic Ta’ang and Chinese communities who farm vegetables and paddy plants on the mountainsides.

A local grocery seller who travels village to village in the Mong Yaw area said that she was afraid to visit communities as long as clashes were occurring.

“It’s difficult for our daily survival,” she told SHAN.

Government-backed militias and Tatmadaw troops have been stationed in the Mong Yaw area. According to locals, Shan and Ta’ang forces have also patrolled the territory.

Last week, government forces and the TNLA also clashed near Pang Khar village in the Mong Yaw area, 30 miles northeast of Lashio town.