Security on the border between the Burmese Army and United Wa State Army (UWSA) in Shan State North has been tightened as Naypyitaw’s deadline for the Wa to transform into the Border Guard Force (BGF) expired, according to sources on the Sino-Burma border.
The deadline expired in April for the group to transform into BGF. Since then both sides have been reinforcing their checkpoints facing each other and have been seriously checking everyone coming from each other’s areas, said a driver who plies a truck between Panghsang-Tangyan.
In accordance with an order from the Wa side, passengers and vehicles are barred from crossing Nampang gate, located between the Wa’s capital Panghsang and the Burmese Army controlled town of Tangyan, 115 miles west of Panghsang, between 6 p.m. and 6 a. m.
People who arrived at the gate after 6 p.m. were told to return to Tangyan, two hour’s drive from the gate. No one is allowed to stay near the gate, he said.
The Burmese Army was reported to have been taken at Loi Panglong gate, the Burmese Army’s strongest base facing the Wa strongholds in Manghseng, northwest of Panghsang, said a source from the Wa capital.
“They checked everything that we brought. They asked many questions. They checked our ID cards and asked whether our cards are real and where we were going to sleep and how many days we would be staying in Wa areas,” said a passenger.
Nevertheless, the Wa capital is still busy as usual, according to him.
“People are not afraid this time despite the junta’s threat. Because they are getting used to it after several false alarms,” he said.
Another report also said that the military junta has also been seeking permission from the Wa to allow its personnel, who were ordered to leave Panghsang in March, to work in the areas though relations have soured. But the requests were turned down by the Wa authorities every time because they could not guarantee their personnel’s safety, a source said.
“We did not order them to leave, the junta itself did,” a source quoted one of the Wa officers as saying. “But now they want to come. How can we allow them to do whatever they want?” the officer said.
Relations between the two are still tense though Naypyitaw’s first priority is to hold the general elections before the year’s end.
