Fighting erupted in northeast Myanmar on Tuesday as a five-month ceasefire brokered by China between junta forces and ethnic minority insurgents broke down, with clashes including air strikes by military jets, residents of the area told Radio Free Asia.

An official in the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, or TNLA, insurgent force said the fighting in Shan state started because of attacks by junta forces on their positions.  A spokesman for the junta did not respond to calls seeking comment.

“Fighting erupted around 5 a.m. and can still be heard,” said one resident of the area, about 220 km (140 miles) northeast of the city of Mandalay.

“Fighter jets shot and bombed near the side of Kyauk Kyan village … The villagers have fled. We can’t leave through Kyauk Kyan because the road is closed and there’s fighting there,” said the resident who declined to be identified for security reasons.

The TNLA is a member of the Three Brotherhood Alliance of insurgent factions that launched an offensive in October and made significant gains  against junta forces, especially in areas of Shan state near the border with China.

Chinese officials brokered a ceasefire between the insurgent alliance and junta forces on Jan. 11 and organized talks between the rivals in May in the Chinese city Kunming. Sources with knowledge of the talks said China was keen to protect its economic interests on the border and in Rakhine state on the coast.

The other two members of the insurgent alliance are the Arakan Army, from Rakhine state, and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, based on the Chinese border.

Taking positions

The TNLA said in a statement the fighting that erupted in Shan state’s Nawnghkio and Kyaukme townships was a resumption of the alliance’s offensive from last year, codenamed Operation 1027. 

Junta jets struck on the outskirts of Nawnghkio town, near an army camp at Kyauk Kyan village, residents said.

Fighting spread to the villages between Nawnghkio and Mandalay region’s Pyinoolwin, along a 56 km (35 mile) stretch of road where junta troops were attacking villages by air, the first resident said.

TNLA forces surrounded Kyaukme town while junta troops were shelling them from the camps in the town, residents said. 

At least one man was killed by artillery fire in the town, one resident said.

“A  shell was dropped in neighborhood No. 8 and shrapnel killed a man,” said the resident, who also declined to be identified.

“When I was in the market at 5 a.m., there was fighting, I heard loud explosions and also machine gun fire. Everyone closed their shops and ran away.”

Schools  in Kyaukme town also closed, he said. 

Insurgents were taking positions around Hsipaw township in southern Shan state, and a bridge in the area had been blown up, residents there said, adding that fighting had trapped villagers across Hsipaw and Kyaukme towns due to roadblocks.

The TNLA  head of information, Lway Yay Oo, told RFA that the fighting started when junta troops attacked their camps.

“Fighting broke out with the junta army at the intersection of Nawnghkio’s Ohn Ma Thee village and Kyaukme’s Nyein Chan Yay Kone village,” she said. 

The junta has yet to release any information about the renewed fighting. RFA called its national spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min, Tun for comment but he did not respond.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn. 

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.

This post was originally published on Radio Free.