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Yesterday before noon, the Burma Army’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 506 attacked the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) base at Loikuk in Kehsi township, southern Shan State, local news sources reported.
The Burma army’s latest assault on the Shan army was unable to seize the SSA base. A number of injured government soldiers were seen being carried to Lashio, the locals told SHAN.
The commander of Syria’s rebels confirms they have received new weapons, giving his forces more power in battles against government troops and Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon.
Gen. Salim Idris refused to say in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV Friday where the weapons came from.
At least three civilian houses belonging to Marip Brang, Ndup Hkun Hpung and Jinghpaw La of Wing Seng village have been hit by Burmese army’s 60 mm mortar shells at Htingnu quarter in Mungpaw in northern Shan State on June 18. No human casualties have been reported as villagers have fled to safe locations. But the mortar shells destroyed houses and killed at least 4 domestic pigs.
Battles continue in northern Shan State between Kachin Independence Army and Burmese Government Army despite both sides agreed to de-escalate military tension in the last meeting in May. A battle took place between Kachin people militia (MHH) troops from section 2 of KIA’s 36th Battalion and Burmese army’s 128th Light Infantry Regiment at Hu Bang bridge located between Loi Sa and Ying Seng village in northern Shan State on June 18 at 12:10 pm. The battle lasted for about an hour and no casualties have been reported from both sides.
Mali signed a ceasefire deal with Tuareg separatist rebels on Tuesday, paving the way for government troops to return to the northern, rebel-held town of Kidal before a presidential election next month.
At the heart of a region plagued by poverty and Islamic militancy, Mali won a 3.25 billion euros ($4.35 billion) Western aid package last month aimed at shoring up democracy and helping it recover from a coup and an al-Qaeda insurgency.
U.S. officials say they will sit down with the Taliban “within days” to begin the “first step on a long road” toward ending the 12-year-old war in Afghanistan.
The announcement came as the Taliban opened their first office on June 18 in Doha and announced its willingness to open peace talks with the Afghan government. Negotiations over the opening of the office lasted more than two years.