Shans no sitting ducks for junta troops

Shans no sitting ducks for junta troops

Shan commander 

As reports of Rangoon sending its crack units to dislodge the Shan armed resistance from the border areas flooded in, the Shan State Army's eastern commander disclosed to S.H.A.N. he would not be engaging in a positional warfare with the Burmese. 

Lt-Col Kornzuen, better known as Kham to all his friends, confirming elements from LIDs (Light Infantry Division) 55 and 99 coming across the Salween, said his Kengtung Front fighters were preparing a "hearty welcome" along the motor roads. 

So far there are 7 junta battalions (IB 244, LIBs 316, 330, 334, 335, 359 and 526) and a 300 -strong Wa reserve unit involved in the fighting. 

The Shans took the Pang Noon base, opposite Mae Faluang District, Chiangrai Province, yesterday morning (12 February) after a 3-hour-long bloody fight. The retreating LIB 330 (Monghpyak) left 6 dead on the battle field. As for his own casualties, he was still "looking through it," he said.

"The Burmese (military) thought we were easy pickings, and made the same mistake for the second time," Kornzuen told S.H.A.N. The first time Rangoon tried to wrest the area from the SSA was in December 1999, after the latter's ambush on a drug convoy. 

Nearly 400 villagers from across the border, most of them Akha and Lahu, fled into Thailand. They are being given temporary refuge at the village of Phyaprai in Mae Faluang District. 

The SSA fields 8 brigades and 3 mobile columns. The total strength estimates vary from 3,500-7,000. It presents the strongest armed opposition against Rangoon at present.