Update by the Shan Human Rights Foundation

December 2, 2022

Over 700 villagers fled indiscriminate shelling by the Burma Army during an attack against the ceasefire group, the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA), in Hsipaw township, northern Shan State, on November 25, 2022.

About 80 Burma Army troops launched the attack at 6 am at Koong Sar village, which lies on the Mandalay–Muse highway about 10 kilometers east of Hsipaw town. The troops arrived in eleven trucks from the direction of Hsipaw town. Some troops were from Lashio–based Infantry Battalion 68, stationed at the Kho Long bridge, about three kilometers west of Koong Sar, and some were from Hsipaw–based Infantry Battalion 23.

The attack targeted SSPP/SSA troops camping in Koong Sar during the Shan New Year celebrations. The two sides clashed for half an hour, during which the Burma Army fired shells indiscriminately into the village, damaging 14 houses, but fortunately causing no civilian injury.

Terrified by the fighting and shelling, about 700 villagers fled from their homes in Koong Sar and nearby villages. Some took shelter in village temples and churches, and some in temples in Hsipaw town.

The following numbers were displaced:

After the fighting, the SSPP/SSA retreated from Koong Sar, but the Burma Army troops remained stationed in the village high school. By November 30, most of the displaced villagers had returned home. Some found their property had been ransacked by the Burma Army troops.

The following Koong Sar residents suffered damage to their houses from the shelling on November 25:

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