Myanmar’s military launched an attack against the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) in the country’s eastern Shan state on Tuesday, according to an RFA report on 6 October which quoted a spokesman for the group as saying the move was retribution for refusing to sign a nationwide cease-fire agreement the government hopes to conclude later this month.
The fighting erupted near Loilen district’s Monghsu township headquarters of the SSA-N, the armed wing of the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP), causing Shan residents of five villages to flee to safety, SSPP spokesman Lt-Col Sai La told RFA’s Myanmar Service.
The clash is the first since the military shelled areas under SSPP control near Wan Hai on 7 August, and Sai La told RFA he believed it was in retribution for the SSA-N’s decision not to join a nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA) the government hopes to conclude in a signing ceremony set for Oct. 15.
The SSA-N has had a bilateral cease-fire agreement in place with the government since 2012.