Burma's largest armed ethnic group, UWSA Deploy Troops at Thai Border

Burma's largest armed ethnic group, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), has deployed three battalions from its headquarters in Panghsang to southern Shan State close to the Thai border in as preparations mount for a military showdown with the Burmese amy, sources close to the UWSA say.  

The three battalions—comprising some the Wa army's elite troops—were dispatched within the last few days. The battalions were led by veteran commander Wei Hsaitang who has extensive frontline experience and is strategically familiar with the geography of southern Shan State where many Wa people live, the sources said.

Saeng Juen, an editor at the Thailand-based Shan Herald Agency for News said that Wei Hsaitang first became notorious as a warrior when the Wa battled former drug warlord Khun Sa’s Mong Tai Army in 1989-96.

The mobilization comes as tensions increase between Naypyidaw and several ethnic cease-fire groups that have refused at accede to the junta's border guard force (BGF) plan.

The UWSA has an estimated 30,000 soldiers, some 4,000 of whom are based in villages around the Shan State-Thai border where 60,000-120,000 Wa people live.

Saeng Juen said that the headmen of several Wa villages organized a public gathering in Mongton Township in southern Shan State on Sept. 7-8 when they explained preparations and evacuation plans to the assembled crowd.

There are no reports of Burmese army reinforcements in southern Shan State, said Saeng Juen. However, The Irrawaddy reported on Wednesday that government forces had mobilized close to the Chinese border in areas traditionally controlled by Shan Wa and Kachin armies.  

An official from the UWSA in Panghsang told The Irrawaddy on Thursday: “We have to wait and see what happens after Snr-Gen Than Shwe comes back from China. We think that his talks with the Chinese government will include border stability issues.”

He said, however, that he does not believe the Burmese regime will order an offensive against the UWSA before or during the general election, which is on Nov. 7, but perhaps in the post-election period.

On April 23-24, small clashes occurred between UWSA units in southern Shan State and Burmese government troops, according to Thai soldiers posted at Ang Khang hill, about 23 kilometers from the Fang District border with Shan State.