Karenni strategic hill under siege

War

Karenni strategic hill under siege

The Karenni resistance stronghold on the Thai-Burma border has been laid siege by the Burmese forces, according to Thai and resistance sources:
Doi Yamo, or Nyan-mo as called by the Karenni, some 15 km west of Maehongson, is under blockade from the Burmese side by 6 Burmese battalions (Infantry Battalions 54, 134 and 135 and Light Infantry Battalions 337, 501 and 502) plus a militia contingent, said a Karenni National Progressive Party information official.

"As long as the Burma Army stays on its side of the border, we are not worried," said the official. "The main thing is that they don't cross the border into Thailand to attack us from the rear."

Thai security officers rejected the possibility of granting access to the Burmese troops. "Friends or no friends, our standing order is to keep out of our territory every alien armed group," thundered a Thai colonel based in Maehongson. "It isn't a matter of maintaining normal relations. It's a matter of upholding one's sovereignty."

Two battalions, the 1st (Chiangmai-based) and the 5th (Pai-based) from the 7th Regiment, are been deployed along the Maehongson border to see there is not intrusion, said another officer.

Territorial violations are nothing new for the Burma Army. On 8 February 2001, it had seized a Thai border outpost in Chiangrai to pounce on the Shan State Army defenders from the rear, thereby provoking a major confrontation with Thailand. It had taken the Thai Army three days to dislodge the invading Burmese troops.

Falang a.k.a Chang Hsu-chuan, Chief of Staff of Khun Sa's now defunct Mong Tai Army once told S.H.A.N.:
A military campaign is not dictated by the national boundaries but by the question of victory or defeat.

Both Thai and Karenni resistance sources are expecting an attack soon.

Doi Yamo overlooks the whole Maehongson plain. "Any hostile elements occupying it will be able to threaten the whole city," said a citizen. "Two Thai villages near the hill are already within range of the Burmese army's heavy weapons."