Two pro-junta militia members were killed when the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) ambushed a junta convoy carrying soldiers and allied local militias in Muse Township, northern Shan State on Wednesday.
TNLA troops attacked 10 junta vehicles carrying over 100 soldiers and militias near Auktungkhan village, between Muse town and 105th-mile border trade zone on the border with China.
The TNLA ambushed the convoy by detonating mines, while junta troops responded by opening fire and shelling the scene until 4 pm, according to locals.
“Streets are deserted in the 105th-mile border trade zone due to [junta] artillery strikes. They are still shooting near Auktungkhan village,” a local resident told The Irrawaddy at 3 pm on Wednesday.
Locals voiced fears that the fighting would affect border trade with China.
The attack killed two convoy personnel immediately while also wounding junta soldiers, according to a source from the front line. The source claimed that a People’s Defense Force (PDF) group fought alongside the TNLA, but the ethnic armed organization did not mention any PDF involvement.
Junta artillery deployed in the Muse border trade zone shelled the scene of the ambush, wounding a civilian woman, who was rushed to hospital.
The ambush took place on the cargo route from the 105th-mile trade zone to Jinsanjiao gate on the Myanmar-China border. The TNLA is active in the area.
On July 19, junta troops attacked a TNLA hill-top outpost near Mankan village on the Muse-Namkham road, sparking a day-long clash.
On July 25, junta troops launched air and artillery strikes on a TNLA unit near Sai Khaung village, close to the 105th-mile border trade zone. A male resident of Sai Khaung was killed by the shelling, after which junta soldiers seized his body.
Junta troops and the TNLA have clashed at least five times in Muse since late December, with military tensions remaining high in the area.
