Myanmar junta sends ethnic army into former base of Khun Sa BANGKOK Dec. 14 Kyodo - The Myanmar military junta is preparing to send a Wa ethnic minority army to take over the small border village Ho Mong, the former base of drug lord Khun Sa, a close aide to Ho Mong village chief Mahacha said Thursday. > > More than 500 fighters of the United Wa State Army (UWSA), equipped with > heavy weapons, have been deployed since early this month near the village, > located 6 kilometers from the northwestern Thai province of Mae Hong Son, > although it is unclear whether the junta will allow the UWSA to take > control, according to the aide, A-sang. > > Khun Sa, also known as Chang Shifu, left Ho Mong when his Mong Tai army > surrendered to the military junta in 1996. Mahacha, a close friend of Khun > Sa, is now authorized to run the village. > > A-sang said that Mahacha went to Yangon to see Khin Nyunt, the No. 3 man in > the military junta as first secretary of the State Peace and Development > Council, in a bid to retain control of the village. > > A Thai military officer said the movement of UWSA fighters poses a direct > threat to the Shan State Army (SSA), an ethnic minority guerrilla group > formerly led by Khun Sa that is based near the village. > > Myanmar's military wants to completely overrun the SSA, which has > intensified its armed struggle against the junta since Khun Sa surrendered. > > The UWSA, also based near the Thai border, is considered by the Thai > military a major producer of amphetamines for the Thai market. Formerly a > rebel group, it signed a cease-fire agreement with the government in 1989, > but continues to hold arms. > > The Myanmar army and the UWSA began their annual dry season offensive > against the SSA last month, and the next operation is expected very soon, > the Thai officer said. -------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~> <FONT COLOR="#000099">Big News - eGroups is becoming Yahoo! Groups Click here for more details: </FONT><A HREF="http://click.egroups.com/1/10801/0/_/475667/_/977081511/"><B>Click Here!</B></A> ---------------------------------------------------------------------_->
