A three-year-old was killed by Burma Army (BA) shrapnel during clashes with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Kutkai Township, northern Shan State.

On Monday, KIA Battalion 29, under Brigade 4, attacked 80 BA soldiers travelling in two military vehicles to Mang Nawng village at around 7am. Following the attack, the junta soldiers fired artillery and a shell hit the village, killing the boy, according to a local source who requested anonymity.

"His family had been hiding under a tree when the clash occurred. His mother was holding the child when a shell hit near the tree and shrapnel struck his head,'' the man said.

The boy later died in Kutkai Public Hospital.

BA troops were deployed to the region after the clashes and tensions between the armed groups remain high.

"It's time to plant and we've have to work in our paddy field. But we're scared after the BA sent more troops to our area. The military is so brutal...soldiers often commit human rights violations," the source said.

Fighting between KIA and BA has been frequent in July.