2006

The big chase

Yesterday, one of the Shan State Army's celebrated military commanders Khun Kyaw aka Than Gyaung, 40, surrendered to the Burma Army after a 4-month hide and seek campaign...

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Commander: I wasn't trained to surrender

In an attempt to dispel doubts about his intent, a Shan commander whose group has been under an ongoing search-and-destroy campaign by the Burma Army has vowed today he will never surrender...

STATEMENT ON SSA SOUTH SURRENDER TO SPDC.doc

 

Fresh campaign against SSA begins

The Arakan state-based Military Operations Control Command #5 that had moved into southern Shan State last year has launched a fresh campaign to search and destroy Shan State Army's 758th Brigade, report sources from the border...

Shan leaders concerned for safety of commander

The exiled Shan political group, Shan Democratic Union, has expressed deep concern over the safety of a Shan State Army 'South' commander and his 30 plus colleagues who surrendered on 1-2 January...

Militia given back their guns

Weapons seized earlier in the month by the Burma Army in the wake of record haul of arms on 9 January have been returned to the pro-Rangoon militia groups, according to sources on the Tachilek-Maesai border...

SSA claims to have killed, maimed 9,500 junta troops

A 62-page report by the leader of the anti-Rangoon Shan State Army faction has claimed to have killed and wounded 9,571 Burma Army troops during the past ten years...

All eyes on new division on the border

Both Shan and Thai military have been keeping a lookout for the first elements of the Sagaing-based Light Infantry Division 33 that arrived last Thursday (16 March) on Thailand's northern border...

Breaking News: SSA vs Burma Army

A Shan State Army 'South' patrol on its way to intercept a heroin caravan ran into a joint Burma Army patrol at 16:10 today, said Lt-Col Gawnzuen, commander of the Loi Kawwan-based Kengtung Force...

Revised version: Picked soldiers filling up the new capital

Soldiers selected for Armed Forces Day parade have been arriving in Burma's new capital in Pyinmana, 244 miles (390 km) from Rangoon, since the first day of March, according to a military source who recently visited the area...

First border clash in years

A Shan State Army 'South' unit, on a mission to head off a drug consignment into Thailand, yesterday bumped into a 120-strong joint patrol of the militia-Burma Army, reported Shan and Thai security sources...

Watch out for the Russian navy

Burma's invitation of Russian trawlers to its waters during Gen Maung Aye's high profile visit to Moscow, 2-7 April, could be a smoke signal for the Russian navy to lend a hand in the Burmese rulers' ongoing defenses against an anticipated American invasion, according to a source close to the Burmese military...

Stand off on the border

A junta column and the Shan State Army patrol that fought on Friday, 21 April, are still facing each other off on the border between Monghsat (Shan State) and Chiangrai (Thailand), according to sources on the border...

Wa commander buys in

As Thailand's drug enforcement chief Krisna Pol-anand prepares his trip to witness Burma's latest drug bonfire in Kengtung tomorrow, a Wa commander has dispatched 250-fresh troops to the scene of the battle that took place Friday, 21 April, just 1 km north of the Chiangrai border, according to Thai and Shan sources...

Fighting resumes

Shan State Army positions held since the clash on 21 April were stormed by joint Burma Army-Wa-militia troops this morning, according to Shan and Thai sources on the border...

Wa explanation proves hard to sell

Some border watchers and Shan commanders are taking the Wa assurance that it entertains no aggressive designs along the Thai-Burma border with several pinches of salt, reports Hawkeye aka U Sein Kyi who had recently visited the border...

Pay rise fails to help other ranks

The dismal life of the rank and file in the Burma Army has not been touched by the pay hike that came into effect last April, according to sources from Kengtung.

Junta shelling catches Shans unawares

Surprise shelling intermingled with machine gun spraying yesterday had caught the Shan State Army (SSA) South unit and the Thai security force stationed on the Chiangmai border offguard, according to sources.

More troops on the border

The Burma Army has dispatched fresh units to the border opposite Chiangrai province, prompting both Thai and Shan forces to keep a close watch of further moves, reports S.H.A.N. correspondent Zerng Tai:

Wa not joining battle with Shans

A United Wa State Army (UWSA) official has spurned reports about its troops coming down from its headquarters on the Sino-Burma border to join hands with the Burma Army against the Shan State Army (SSA) South base of Loi Kawwan on the Thai-Burma border.

Regional commander # 2 to oversee operations

Brig-Gen Way Lin, Deputy commander of Kengtung-based Triangle Region Command, has arrived in Tachilek, opposite Maesai, to personally direct operations against the Shan State Army-South following recent clashes, according to both Thai and Shan sources: