Relations have become tense in the Wa self-administered region as government troops have blocked Myanmar’s most heavily armed rebel group from accessing crucial transport routes.
Aung Kyaw Zaw, a war observer along the China-Myanmar border,told Mizzima that government troops prevented the United State Wa Army (USWA)from passing over the Kyaing Tone – Lashio highway.
“The situation is bad,” he said. “The Myanmar government has cut off the transportation from south to north.”
The USWA has approximately 30,000 troops along the northeast Myanmar-China border and has been flexing its muscles recently in an effort to carve out a fully autonomous state.
“The situation is tense,” Saw Lwin, a UWSA district secretary told Mizzima.“The government troops are asking for us to return three Wa territory camps.”
However, he also told Mizzima that there have been no battles and he expected the Wa troops to retreat.
Rumors have arisen that the Shan State Army (SSA/RCSS) has been asked to collaborate with the government troops.
When questioned by Mizzima about their involvement, Maj. Sai Lao Seng, a spokesperson from the SSA/RCSS, said that he doubted these rumors.
“We have had battles in the past so maybe there is some misunderstanding between the two sides this time,” he said.
The Wa self-administered state is currently made up of six townships in the borderlands of Shan State, where the country’s most powerful rebel group has held a ceasefire with the government since 1989.
