The Northern Alliance of ethnic armed groups attacked a Tatmadaw battalion base operating under the northeastern military command in Lashio on Wednesday.

According to locals, joint forces from the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army attacked the base of Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 291 in Nam Poung village tract at around 5:30 a.m. on August 28.

“They were still shooting at 9:00 a.m. I heard heavy weapons firing. Shells landed in a paddy field in Lon Khan village. Nobody dared to go out of their houses,” a Nam Poung local told SHAN. “We are worried that the road and bridges will be destroyed. If the road and bridges are destroyed, we will have problems traveling and working on our farms.”

Farmers said that Burma Army columns had been actively patrolling the area, and that around 100 troops from ethnic armed forces had arrived in the jungle near Nam Poung the week before.

“I heard that a military column from LIB 291 traveled to the Loi Len-Mangpan area… A column of the Northern Alliance forces also passed through Loi Len. They missed each other by a little bit,” the Nam Poung local said.

According to local civil society organizations, even though no one has been displaced from Nam Poung, more than 50 families from nearby Loi Mark Muu village and more than 20 families from Kar Na village sought refuge in the Namma Bawda monastery this week.  

Northern Alliance forces retreated from the battle area at around 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Since then, Burma Army troops have been carrying out a counter attack and have been in pursuit of the ethnic armed group soldiers.