The siege by the joint forces of Wa-Mongla against the Burmese Army’s garrison at Mongyang, 260 km north of Maesai, since August 26, was lifted on September 9, last week, following a number of official requests by the Burmese Army, according to sources on the Sino-Burma border.
People, who had fled from Panghsang (the Wa capital), Mongyang and Mongla, are slowly returning. “The transport fare between Tangyan (west of the Salween) and Panghsang, which was Kyat 120,000 (USD120) the previous week, is almost back to normal (Kyat 40,000),” said a local official in Panghsang. “Currently, about 50% of those people have returned,” he added.
The siege was prompted by the disappearance of three Burmese Army officers and men, who were found moving suspiciously around Khosoong, the border between Wa and Mongla late last month. “Maj Kyaw Soe Aung, the 2IC (second-in-command) of IB 279 (based in Mongyang) was reported to have demanded the immediate release of his men,” said a reliable source from Mongla.
The Burmese Army’s Kengtung-based Triangle Command officers and Lt-General Ye Myint, Naypyitaw’s chief negotiator on the controversial Border Guard Force (BGF) plan, had in person and by letter to Mongla, requested for the release of the three officers, saying the latter had no cause for worry about an impending attack.
Even as it is not clear if the Wa and Mongla were convinced about the Burmese Army’s intentions, both the forces finally decided to call off the siege, said the source. “I believe China must have had a hand in the alliance’s decision,” commented a Burma watcher from Thailand.
A 15-member Chinese delegation had visited Panghsang on September 8, the day before the lifting of the siege. Thousands of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops backed by armoured vehicles and artillery were seen in Meng Lien (Monglem), opposite Panghsang, according to a source, who recently visited the Wa territory. “‘We will fight to the last man or woman,’ the Wa was reported to have told the delegation,” he said. “But it was not clear how the Chinese representatives had responded,” he added.
Peng Jiasheng, the deposed Kokang leader, who was reported by Global Times to be taking asylum in the Wa State, is believed to have left it, according to a reliable source in Panghsang. “He’s not in Mongla, where his daughter and his son-in-law Sai Leun are, either,” he said. “To both the Wa and Mongla, he’s a Ho Hsang (the Brahma head, meaning too hot to handle). The farther he stays from them, the better it is for him and them,” he added.
The Burmese Army had earlier demanded his extradition, to which the Wa replied that he had not been seen since August 30, a day after the fall of Qingshuihe, the Kokang stronghold.
Burmese Army forces, that have been laying siege on the Wa territory since late last month, meanwhile, has so far remained in place. “So despite the lifting of the siege in Mongyang, the alert is still on,” said another source close to the leadership.
The UWSA has deployed 3 divisions plus supporting units for the defence, he added: the 318th commanded by Bao Ai Roong in the north; the 418th, commanded by Zhao Saidao in the west; and the 468th, commanded by Sai Hsarm in the South.
Along Thailand’s border, the UWSA’s southern 171st Military Region Command has 5 “divisions”, commanded by Wei Xuegang, according to a UWSA publication: 772nd (Mong Jawd), 775th (Hwe Aw), 778th (Khailong), 248th (Hopang-Hoyawd) and 518th (Mongyawn).
