Shans have no desire to shoot it out with Wa

Shans have no desire to shoot it out with Wa: Yawdserk

Battle at the border

The Shan rebel leader who had recently recaptured a former Shan stronghold from the Burma Army said yesterday he had no desire to fight against Wa, according to a S.H.A.N. source at the border. 

"The Burmese have their own land to go back to," he was quoted as saying, "but Shans and Wa share the same country which is also home to other races." 

"I invite them to join hands with us for the same cause. Otherwise, they can go back to their mother units." 

The 171st Brigade's 57th Battalion at Panghawk is facing the Shan State Army at its freshly won Pang Maisoong. Villagers who fled into Thailand told S.H.A.N. the Wa were also careful not to accept any Burma Army men among them. "Troops that retreated from Pang Maisoong were told to find their own units further north," said one. 

The SSA fighters in the meanwhile bypassed the Wa positions around Panghawk and attacked Mongtaw, IB 314's forward command post, 10 km away. An unconfirmed report says it has already been captured. 

"The situation is still confusing," admitted a Thai colonel. "Because Bangkok is keeping it so top secret and so low profile, even some top generals are in a state of bewilderment." 

The Shan attack coincides with Surasi 1/3, the Thai Army's unprecedented military drills along its northern border areas. 

Update: 

Burma has closed off its three points of entry: Kawsawng, Myawaddy and Tachilek again this morning, said several sources, by an order from Maj Gen Kyaw Win, Gen Khin Nyunt's deputy. 

"Gas stations in Tachilek have raised their prices two-fold," reported one source. "The townspeople are afraid if they were ordered for evacuation, their trucks may not have enough fuel to reach any destinations."