Burma-Myanmar: Army demands Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army-North (SSPP/SSA-N) withdrawal from strategic outposts
The Burma Army has threatened renewed military offensives if the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army-North (SSPP/SSA-N) refuses to withdraw from two mountain posts bordering ethnic Wa territory, according to local sources.
A sergeant from the SSA-N told The Irrawaddy on the condition of anonymity that his armed group would not abandon these northern Shan State posts and that they would defend their territory in the event of a strike by government forces.
“We have two brigades there,” the officer said. “We have no conditions under which we would withdraw from our posts because this was our area and we have been based here for a long time. We are prepared to fight if they take action.”
The warning to withdraw came in the form of a letter from the Burma Army’s Northeastern Command in Shan State’s northern city of Lashio, just before the annual water festival last week, the sergeant said.
He expressed concern that the Burma Army might be planning an operation on a larger scale.