Not only is the Burma Army stepping up a military campaign against the Shan State Army (SSA) in central Shan State, it has also started another one further north on the Chinese border against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) since 19 April, according to reports coming from northern Shan State.
Apart from units under the Kunlong-based operations command, units under Light Infantry Division (LID) 11 are involved in the fighting. LID 11 is based near Rangoon.
The assault on the KIA’s 4th Brigade HQ, Loi Kangmong, in Kutkhai township, yesterday was aimed at cutting off the communication line between the KIA and its allies, according to Aung Kyaw Zaw, military analyst based on the Sino-Burmese border. “It is a key link in the communication line,” he said.
The KIA’s closest allies in northern Shan State are the Shan State Progress Party / Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA), more commonly known as the SSA North, and the Palaung Shan Liberation Front / Ta-ang National Liberation Army (PSLF/TNLA).
According to Mai Phong Kyaw, General Secretary of the PSLF, the Burma Army forces in Shan State’s top north area has increased from around 1,000 to around 3,000 recently, reported Mizzima News yesterday.
It is not known whether the campaign is the direct result of the joint operation by the three groups against the Burma Army’s Panhsay People’s Militia Force (PMF) in the neighboring township of Namkham on 8 April.
All the three groups plus the SSA South are active along the oil-gas pipelines coming from the Arakan coast that pass through northern Shan State into China’s Yunnan.
Meanwhile, the Mongnawng based Military Operations Command (MOC) # 2 has reinforced its forces in Mong Awd, Monghsu township, with 200 fresh troops coming from Infantry Battalion # 248 (Mong Nai) and Light Infantry Battalions (LIBs) # 515 (Laikha) and # 517 (Mong Pawn), according to SSA sources.
So far the campaign against the SSA North has been waged by the Northeastern Region Command based in Lashio. “It appears the Central Eastern Region Command (based in Kholam, Southern Shan State) is entering the fray soon,” commented an SSA officer.
The Burma Army’s objectives, according to the SSA, are 4 mountain bases on the west bank of the Salween: Loi Khawk, Loi Zay, Loi Lan and Loi Khio. “They would be used as staging areas for the offensive against the Wa (east of the Salween),” he said.
The KIA, SSA North and the United Wa State Army (UWSA), two of which have signed new ceasefire, are on the Burma Army’s “hit list”, according to a report coming from Naypyitaw.
