Burma-Myanmar: 17 Government soldiers killed in heavy clashes against a combined force of Palaung, Kachin and Kokang ethnic rebels in Shan State
TNLA troops on the march in northern Shan State’s Kyauk Mae Township. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)
Heavy clashes between the Burma Army and a combined force of Palaung, Kachin and Kokang ethnic rebels in northern Shan State’s Kutkhai Township killed 17 government soldiers on Wednesday, a Palaung rebel source has claimed.
Tar Ban Hla, a spokesperson of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), told The Irrawaddy that the Burma Army’s Infantry Division 11 made an incursion into TNLA area, prompting a response by fighters of the TNLA, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), a small Kokang militia.
He said the rebels in northern Kutkai Township’s Tarmoenye Sub-Township had then been surrounded by government forces and were forced to face the approaching soldiers at close range.