on Feb. 22. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)|Villagers on their way back home to Nyaung Pin Hla village on Feb. 22 after fighting between the Shan State Army-South and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)|A Shan State Army-South sniper at Nyaung Pin Hla village on Feb. 22. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)|Shan State Army-South troops at Nyaung Pin Hla village on Feb. 22. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)|Shan State Army-South soldiers carry meat in Nyaung Pin Hla village on Feb. 22. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)|Shan State Army-South members wash themselves in Nyaung Pin Hla village on Feb. 22. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)|Shan State Army-South members at rest on Feb. 22. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)|A Shan State Army-South member and a villager at Nyaung Maung village
Kyaukme Township
on Feb 22. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)|A Shan State Army-South soldier enjoys a cigarette at Nyaung Pin Hla village on Feb. 22. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)|A Shan State Army-South sniper at Nyaung Pin Hla on Feb. 22. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)|Shan State Army-South troops camped at Nyaung Pin Hla village on Feb. 22. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)|A Shan State Army-South soldier at Nyaung Pin Hla village on Feb. 22. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)|A Shan State Army-South soldier on guard at Ta San village on Feb. 23. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)|A Shan State Army-South soldier rests at Ta San village on Feb. 23. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)|A Shan State Army-South soldier on guard at Ta San village. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)|Villagers leaving their homes at Ta San village on Feb. 23 after fighting broke out in the area. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)
Shan State Army-South soldiers carry meat in Nyaung Pin Hla village on Feb. 22. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)
Shan State Army-South members wash themselves in Nyaung Pin Hla village on Feb. 22. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)
Shan State Army-South members at rest on Feb. 22. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)
A Shan State Army-South member and a villager at Nyaung Maung village, Kyaukme Township, on Feb 22. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)
A Shan State Army-South soldier enjoys a cigarette at Nyaung Pin Hla village on Feb. 22. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)
A Shan State Army-South sniper at Nyaung Pin Hla on Feb. 22. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)
Shan State Army-South troops camped at Nyaung Pin Hla village on Feb. 22. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)
A Shan State Army-South soldier at Nyaung Pin Hla village on Feb. 22. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)
A Shan State Army-South soldier on guard at Ta San village on Feb. 23. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)
A Shan State Army-South soldier rests at Ta San village on Feb. 23. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)
A Shan State Army-South soldier on guard at Ta San village. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)
Shan State Army-South troops at Ta San village on Feb. 23. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)|A Shan State Army-South member in Nyaung Pin Hla village
Villagers leaving their homes at Ta San village on Feb. 23 after fighting broke out in the area. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)
KYAUKME TOWNSHIP, Shan State — The Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) is estimated to command between 6,000 to 8,000 troops. In October last year, the SSA-S, also referred to by its political wing, the Restoration Council of Shan State, was one of eight armed groups that signed the so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement with Naypyidaw.
Earlier this month, fighting between the SSA-S and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), which first flared in November, intensified in northern Shan State, displacing thousands of villagers in Kyaukme and Namkham townships.
The Irrawaddy’s photographer JPaing recently spent time with SSA-S troops in the villages of Ta San, Nyaung Pin Hla and Nyaung Maung in Kyaukme Township that have been affected by recent fighting.
