Clashes break out in Shwe Laung Village, Ottwin Township; local residents flee to safety, with casualties reported

Clashes break out in Shwe Laung Village, Ottwin Township; local residents flee to safety, with casualties reported
Published 19 September 2026
Zaw Win Chit (Taungoo)

Clashes broke out in Shwe Laung Village, Ottwin Township, Taungoo District, Bago Region, east of the Yangon-Mandalay Expressway, on the morning of September 15, forcing local residents to flee to safer areas and casualties were also reported in the clashes.

Shwe Laung Village is located a few miles west of Milepost 144 miles 4 furlongs on the Yangon-Mandalay Expressway in Ottwin Township, along the road leading to Khabaung Dam.

According to local residents, sounds of exchanges of gunfire and artillery fire were heard in the village from around 8 am on September 15, prompting some residents to flee to farm huts in safer areas.

In addition, a woman named Ma Yu Yu Wai from Bo Kone Village in Ottwin Township, her two children and her aunt, along with some other local residents, were reportedly killed by gunfire. According to local residents and reports circulating on social media, around eight people were killed, while some others were injured.

Due to the situation, some social welfare and charitable organizations based in Taungoo began establishing gathering points for local residents at Zee Pin Tha Village and Pitaung Khin Monastery, locations farther from the clashes, from the afternoon of September 16. They have been helping transport the displaced residents from those locations to safer areas.

Currently, more than 500 people, including residents from Shwe Laung Village and surrounding areas, have been displaced by the clashes. The displaced residents are facing difficulties obtaining food. A Taungoo-based charity group assisting in the relocation of those fleeing the clashes has appealed to people who can provide food and other basic necessities to come and provide assistance.

Clashes have also occurred previously in Bo Kone and Shwe Laung villages in Ottwin Township.

In November 2025, an armed group attacked a military camp located at a school in Bo Kone Village, triggering clashes between the two sides and forcing local residents to flee to safety.