The Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) claims to have killed three Burma Army (BA) soldiers and wounded six from Infantry Battalions 223 and 276 and Light Infantry Battalion 348 in northern Shan State on 20 September.

According to an anonymous officer of the Shan armed group, they have killed seven regime fighters since the conflict began in Mongmit Township in early July. However, he didn’t give details of the SSPP’s fatalities except to say that one of their soldiers was wounded in Tuesday’s clashes.

“Our troops are still present in the jungle and if they send troops as part of an offensive against us, the fighting will continue,” the SSPP officer said.

A local requesting anonymity said: “On 22 September, the BA instructed the village headman to report on the activities of ethnic armed organisations in Mongmit Township and the military set up checkpoints around the area.”

With both sides deploying more soldiers around Huay Kham Hill, which is about a mile from Wan Ohm where the SSPP camp is located, and three BA columns attacking the camp from different directions, an escalation of the conflict seems likely.

The BA has ordered the closure of several schools in Wan Ohn and nearby Moebon after 17 September clashes. Classes at the primary school in Wan Ohn and the middle school in Moebon were suspended.

According to the SSPP, the BA asked the village head of Wan Ohn to tell the armed group it must leave the area on 16 September.