More than 200 villagers fled their homes in Tangyan township on Tuesday to escape nearby fighting between the Myanmar military and Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) troops in north-eastern Shan state, RFA reported.

Lieutenant Colonel Sai Hsu from the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP), the political wing of the SSA-N, said the fighting was sparked by measures it is taking under its drug eradication campaign in the state, as announced at an Aug. 2 meeting.

So far, the SSPP has arrested more than 100 people on drug-related crimes since it began its latest campaign, Sai Hsu said.

The SSPP had been accused of recruiting new members under the guise of arrests made under its drug eradication program and of demanding money from the family members of those arrested to secure their release, however, the ethnic armed group denies the accusation, the report said.