Due to continual attacks by the Shan State Army (SSA), Burma Army units on the frontline are facing morale and disciplinary problems rising out of the shortage of rations, according to local and SSA sources.
Among those seized by the SSA included rice, onions, eggplants, fish paste, partially rotted fish, dry fish and condensed milk.
The Burmese units dispatched a village headman to ask for the supplies back, saying they had nothing to eat. “We asked the village headman to tell them we were sorry, but we were also facing the same trouble because of their offensive,” an SSA officer wrote to SHAN. “We had nothing to return even if we wanted to, because they were already eaten by our fighters.”
According to the latest information, 6 infantry battalions have been deployed at 2 junctions around Wanhai, the SSA HQ in Kehsi township:
- Light Infantry Battalion 513 and another infantry battalion, together 179 strong at the Pakhee junction, southeast of Wanhai
- Light Infantry Battalion (108 strong), Infantry Battalion 287 (83 strong) and two unidentified battalions (105 and 122 strong respectively), totaling 418 strong, at Nampook junction, northwest of Wanhai
Pakhee can be reached from Monghsu in the east and Mongnawng from the south, while Nampook from Mongyai in the north and Kehsi from the south.
The Burma Army has been deploying several units to provide security for the roads. But so far, they have been producing mixed results, as the SSA, both North and South, have been carrying out typical guerrilla tactics: ambushes, raids, snipings and interdictions.
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