Among the Shans

Among the Shans 

"Chemical weapons" were tear-gas bombs, said Yawdserk

In reply to S.H.A.N.'s question concerning reports of Rangoon's employment of chemical weapons during the Pakhee Battle, 22 April-3 May, a Shan army leader acknowledged that they were actually tear-gas bombs. 

"The bombs were fired onto Honok (near Pakhee, Mongton Township, opposite Fang District of Chiangmai) on 30 April," he told S.H.A.N.. "They exploded in mid-air, emitting a black smoke that changed into white. Many of our men became dizzy and some of them fell unconscious." 

One officer who witnessed the event added, "At first, we thought they were dead, but after some time they regained consciousness." 

The Pakhee Battle, where Shans captured nearly 200,000 pills of amphetamines from the Burmese outpost, further strained the relations between Thailand and Burma.