Junta mounting chemical warfare

Junta mounting chemical warfare, said Shan army

A bulletin released by Shan State Army this afternoon reported that Rangoon would be using chemical weapons to recapture the mountain base that was lost to the Shans a week ago. 

13 battalions, supported by 3 Chinese made tanks, would be attacking Pakhee, opposite Fang District, Chiangmai Province, it said, apart from the chemical weapons. 

Commenting on this, a weapons expert from Karen National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Karen National Union, said, "Rangoon had employed CW (chemical warfare) during its siege of Kawmoora in 1995 following the fall of Manerplaw (the Karen headquarters). Its forces were not able to capture the base until after missile warheads containing some sort of nerve gas, believed to be Sarin, were used against the stronghold." 

He said the nerve gas had caused dizziness, debilitation and rashes on those who came into contact. He advised using water-soaked handkerchief to cover one's nose. "Those in Kawmoora who were lucky were those who were in the windward," he said. 

He added that recent reports indicate that Rangoon is also developing BW (Biological Warfare) weapons with the assistance of Russian experts. 

"Apart from that Shans should watch out for missiles with delayed charges," said the Karen officer. 

Sarin, a colorless and odorless chemical solution invented by Nazi Germany, could destroy the nervous system of every living being within a hundred feet, according to David E-Kaplan and Andrew Marshall who wrote a book on the 1995 nerve gas attack in the Tokyo underground railway by a religious cult.

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The SSA forces have, apart from Pakhee, expanded into the areas further north and northeast, said a Thai source who just returned from his visit to the battle zone. 

35 Burma Army men, unit unidentified, were killed at a clash near BP-2, opposite Ban Larn, Fang District, today, he said. 4 mortar shells fell inside Thai territory. 

"According to Shan State Army officials, 2,000 more Burmese troops are on their way here, while another 2,000 to the Karen areas," he said.