Fresh armed clash in North East Burma displaced villagers

21 June 2013: Fresh armed offensive by the Burma Army troops on Thursday against ethnic Palaungs has forced more than a hundred villagers in eastern Shan Sate to flee their homes, according to the Palaung Women’s Organization.

Burmese soldiers from Infantry Battalion 145, which engaged in the assault, have been accused of looting a local shop while villagers under attack ran away from their homes and businesses.

A report by the Palaung Women’s Organization said the Burmese soldiers looted over 2-million Kyat worth of merchandise when they broke into a local shop.

One villager said, “Yesterday after the conflict, 56 people from NougNgar village and over 100 people nearby villages left their homes. Some of them went to Mai Yu village, some of them ran to farms and others ran to nearby villages.”

The Palaung, also known as Ta’ang, who has an armed resistance group known as Ta’ang National Liberation Army, say the Burma Army has attacked them two times this week.

The new offensive by the Burma Army against an ethnic armed group comes as the new government of Burma pledges for a peaceful solution to the decades-long civil war in the country.