The sudden return of Infantry Battalion 279, based in Mongyang, the township seat to Monglwe, lying southwest of it on 6 August, was somewhat a surprise. “Troops from Hsaleu-based Brigade 369 (of NDAA) had already decided to return to their main base when the Burmese soldiers turned up,” an informed local told SHAN.

The 50-strong advance force told the local people in 5 villages: Hwe Mu, Hwe Pon, Mark Lawd Kao, Mark Lawd Mai and Ma Nai, all in Monglwe tract, Mongyang township, they were there to assist the villagers in obtaining their long awaited citizenship papers. “Uncharacteristically, they were also throwing money around, from K 50,000-K 100,000 ($62.5-125) each village,” he said. “It caused sort of a pleasant astonishment to the people. In the past, the appearance of a Burmese force in the village meant it was going to ask for something, not giving it.”

The same reaction by the populace was reported recently in Kehsi township, where the Burma Army is launching an operation against the Shan State Army. When villagers received bags of rice from the Burma Army that had been looting them for as long as they could remember, “we couldn’t believe what was happening,” according to a local source.

It was also apparent that a pure silver lode has been discovered between Hwe Mu and Hwe Pon, contrary to the report that came out after a week’s exploration late last month. “The Burmese troops went back after floating around the news of their failure to find anything,” said an NDAA officer. “It was in fact designed to keep us off our vigil.”

The next obvious step is for the Burma Army to employ the local villagers as People’s Militia Force, otherwise becoming their eyes and ears against the NDAA and its closest ally, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), he predicted.

It is not known which company the Burma Army is going to contract for silver extraction. “Without share and share alike, it is going to become another bone of contention, adding fuel to the fire,” the informed local said.

The Burma Army’s relationship with armed groups that had concluded ceasefire pacts with it since 1989 had taken a downswing since 2009 when Naypyitaw demanded they become part of its armed forces. It is already fighting against 3 former ceasefire groups: Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), Shan State Army (SSA) North and Kachin Independence Army (KIA).

Further information
15:00    A source close to the NDAA leadership quoted one of the senior officers saying: We wanted peace, that’s why we had made peace. We  withdrew from Wankho, Pong Hiet and Kiang Kok (on the Mekong) in May, because we wanted peace. But for the Burmese military, they keep asking for more land from us. So we would like to ask: Is land more important than peace?” According to him, the NDAA had lost not just 5 villages, but 7 including Mwe Nawng and Wankay, all south of the Lwe, a tributary of the Mekong. (SHAN)