Question: What’s the status of the war now?

A: The battle is getting fiercer. Our Wan Hai HQ security forces had four clashes on Tuesday with government troops that were approaching our HQ at locations in Kyethi and Mongyai townships. The first clash was fought near Wan Mu village in Kyethi Township, only five miles northwest of our HQ. The second clash was fought in Pan Se village, eight miles northwest of Kyethi. The third clash was fought on the Mongyai-Wan Hai-Mong Hsu Highway eight miles east of Mongyai. The final clash was fought around Nam Phu Pha Lan village, south of Mongyai.

We are fighting with government troops under the command of  Military Operations Command (MOC) No. 2 in Kyethi Township; and in Mongyai Township were are fighting with troops under the command of the Northeast Regional Command. Our Wan Hai forces are in a defensive position around our HQ.

Q: You say fighting is fierce. Both sides are using heavy weapons in this battle, right?

A: Their ground forces also use small arms in the battle and they are using heavy weapons such as 120 mm and 81 mm mortars. We are in defensive battle now. We also used heavy weapons such as 60 mm mortars and 57 mm recoilless rifles in the four clashes on Tuesday.

Q: You say the government troops are approaching your Wan Hai HQ. Do they want to overrun the HQ?

A: Their regional commander Aung Than Htut has given an order to overrun the Wan Hai HQ within one week starting July 16. Now it has been three days and they have not yet taken our position. We will defend our position as much as we can, but we will not fight a defensive war for a long time, say for months. We never fight like that. It’s not beneficial for us.

Q: How about the casualties on both sides in the battle?

A: Some artillery shells fell into villages so both sides may have casualties, but we do not know the exact casualty figures at the moment.

We have already told all the local villagers to flee from the danger zone starting July 16-17. Most of the villages are in Kyethi Township. We told more than 20 villages close to our Wan Hai HQ to flee from the area. They are now hiding in the forests. And also we instructed about 500 households in Wan Hai to move to safer places. About 1,000 villagers have already fled from the war zone. That’s all. Some big villages have about 100 villagers. Some have just 7 to 80 villagers.

Q: Where are the refugees located? Do they have access to relief organizations? Are they getting any help?

A: They fled to areas that they think will be safe from the ongoing battles. They are hiding in the forests, valleys and on their farms but not many people are at the same place. They are in groups of just 5 to 10 people in each hiding place. They have no access to any relief organizations and no one comes to help them. They have to manage for themselves for their daily meals. At this time, no one can get to these war refugees. They have to leave their homes, cattle and farms behind and flee to their hiding places. If their farms lie fallow this cultivation season, they will face starvation next year.

Q: In Kachin State, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) helps the war refugees by providing shelter and relief supplies at refugee camps. Why doesn’t the SSA-N provide such assistance to your people in times of war?

A: The KIO has base camps on the border so it can create refugee camps, but we are in a guerilla war and our bases are encircled by enemy troops. We have only limited room to maneuver. Government troops have issued orders to their troops to arrest all Shan males found in this war zone.

Some of them come to us for refuge. We cannot help many refugees. They become a burden for us. So we tell them to flee to a safe haven on their own. The refugees have to struggle by themselves.