A 270 strong joint Burma Army force coming from Kengtung, where its Triangle Region Command is based, has been on a mission since Tuesday, 13 December, to clear the immediate environs of the Mongpiang-Kengtung highway of the Shan State Army (SSA) ‘South’ fighters, according to an informed source on the Sino-Burmese border.
“The Burma Army appears to be concerned about eventual link-up between the United Wa State Army (UWSA) in the north and the SSA,” he said. “It may want to the keep the SSA south of the road.”
The UWSA signed the ceasefire agreement with Naypyitaw on 6 September, and the SSA South on 2 December.
The SSA however said it has yet to receive any report from the area to support the information. “Maybe the Burmese troops are not wandering too far away from the roads,” an SSA officer commented.
Asked how the ceasefire agreement actually works at the ground level, Lt-Gen Yawdserk, Chairman of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), the political arm of the SSA replied, “The agreement is that we move freely in the countryside and the Burma Army on the main motorways. But if it wants to move outside the motorways, it has to first notify us. It is understood that we will not be held responsible for any clash that takes place between the two sides outside the motorways if we are not notified in advance.”
The SSA is active in most of the Shan State East’s townships except Markmang, Mongkhark, Mongyang, Mongla and areas under the control of the UWSA and the NDAA (National Democratic Alliance Army), another ceasefire group.
There are 55 townships in Shan State, 11 in the east, including Kengtung and Tachilek.
