MGR Online — Shan Tai residents in Muse could no longer contain their fury after Kachin soldiers who had set up a toll checkpoint on the Muse–Namkham road in Northern Shan State shot a villager without cause, prompting a crowd to gather, burn the checkpoint to the ground, and seize the soldiers on duty, tying them to posts.
Yesterday (18 Aug.) a large number of residents from Nam Laeng village, Nong Saeng subdistrict, Muse township, Muse district, Northern Shan State — nearly all of them Shan Tai — assembled and marched to protest against soldiers of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) who had established a toll checkpoint on the main road running from Muse to Namkham.
The villagers made their way to the checkpoint in a state of furious anger. Upon arrival, they swarmed and seized the Kachin soldiers stationed there, dragged them over and tied them to posts, then jointly set fire to the toll checkpoint, destroying it completely.
The grievance that drove the villagers to storm and burn the checkpoint erupted after an incident earlier that same morning at around 10:30 a.m., when Kachin soldiers at the post drew their personal weapons and shot a villager who was driving a sand-hauling truck through the checkpoint, seriously wounding him without any reason.
The victim, named Zai Laeng Sai, 32 years old, is from Ban Chang village. Nearby residents helped transport Zai Laeng Sai across the border for treatment at a hospital in Ruili, in the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture on the opposite side of the border.
According to a report by Shan News, the Kachin Army deployed troops to set up a checkpoint on this road at the beginning of 2026, telling villagers it would be a temporary presence of around six months. However, after six months had elapsed, the soldiers refused to withdraw. On the contrary, from June onward the troops stationed at the checkpoint began collecting tolls from every vehicle passing through, causing hardship and widespread resentment among villagers who regularly depend on this route.
When soldiers shot a villager without provocation that morning, residents could no longer hold back their anger. They arranged to gather and march in protest, burning the checkpoint and seizing the soldiers stationed there, tying them to posts to vent their outrage.
According to the latest report from Shwe Phee Myay news agency, late on the night of 18 Aug., the Kachin Independence Army ordered all troops stationed in the vicinity of the checkpoint to withdraw from the area.
