Shootout leads to beat

Shootout leads to beat-up

A recent encounter between the Burmese army and the Shan rebels resulted in villagers in the vicinity being beaten up by the former, reported a source across Chiangmai yesterday. 

On Saturday (12 January), Captain Than Maung, Commander, Company 3, Battalion 281, summoned villagers farming around the village of Nakawngmu, halfway between Mongton and Border Pass 1 and interrogated them why he was not informed in advance about the movements of the Shan State Army in the area. "11 of them who had farms along the Harng river became unconscious 2-3 times through the beatings," he said. 

The Harng flows near the village. 

On the previous day, the 40-men patrol from the company ran into a 15-men band of Shan fighters from the SSA's Brigade 727, commanded by Maj. Ternkhurh. The ensuing fight that began 08:30 was reported to have lasted until 18:00, when the rebels slipped away as darkness came. (It was later reported that the Shan patrol was led by Second lieutenant Khuenli). 

The source said, "The Burmese were angry because they suffered 8 dead and 6 wounded. The Shans, on the other hand, appeared to have escaped unscathed." 

Asked who he thought won the 12-hour long engagement, he said, "I don't know who won, but I know who lost: It's the villagers." 

The source, a resident of Mongton, 50 miles north of the border, however, did not know whether the battalion was infantry or light infantry. There are IB 281 and LIB 281, according to an opposition documentation center.