Junta army’s road link outpost overrun by Shan rebels

Junta army’s road link outpost overrun by Shan rebels

Nampook, the Burma Army’s outpost, where the roads from Mongyai in the north, Kehsi in the southwest and Wanhai (the Shan State Army “North” HQ) in the southeast meet, was seized and destroyed by the SSA troops by ruse early yesterday, according to rebel sources.

Located roughly halfway between Kehsi and Mongyai (36 miles), the outmanned and outgunned camp was raided at 05:00 in force by the SSA’s Battalion 187, Brigade 27. The bulk of the Burmese troops, made up of infantry battions (IB) 286 and 287 were reported to be heavily engaged in the fighting at Loi Kong, 2 miles west, at the time.

“We had boobytrapped on 10 July some of the soldiers at Nampook on their way to the nearby stream to bathe, killing and wounding 5,” said an SSA officer. “They then attacked us at Loi Kong on the following day at 16:00 and later at 23:00”.

nampook-battle

The SSA, taking advantage of the situation, dispatched Battalion 187 to storm Nampook, he explained. No casualty figures are available at the time of its reporting.

“The deception is not so subtle,” said a long time Burma watcher. “But the fact that it still works shows there are some green field officers leading the Burmese units.”

The ruse, during the earlier days of the Shan resistance, was known as “returning a courtesy visit.”

The SSA North, officially Shan State Progress Party / Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA), until 13 March this year, has been one of the groups that had concluded ceasefire pacts with the Burma Army since 1989, leaving it to fight only against the Karen National Union (KNU) and the SSA “South”. But since November, it has opened new fronts against 3 of the main ceasefire groups: Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), SSA North and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).