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Burmese Troops Battle Dru



/* Written  4:41 am  May 13, 1994 by wov.central@xxxxxxx in igc:soc.cult.burma */
/* ---------- "Burmese Troops Battle Dru" ---------- */
Subject : Burmese Troops Battle Drug Warlord's Army

   BANGKOK, Thailand (Reuter) - Burmese government troops are
locked in battle with guerrillas from the army of Golden
Triangle opium warlord Khun Sa in northeastern Burma, Thai army
and rebel sources said Thursday.
   Hundreds of villagers have fled the fighting and are heading
towards the Thai border, said a Thai army source based in the
northern Thai border district of Chiang Dao.
   "There has been heavy fighting near Mong Kyawt and Mongton.
Initial reports from the battlefield say our troops are circling
Army (MTA), told Reuters by telephone.
   He said an estimated 700 to 800 government soldiers and a
guerrilla force of the same size had been engaged in heavy
fighting since May 10. He had no reports of casualties.
   The Burmese government has since November deployed more than
2,000 infantry to attack Khun Sa's stronghold in Shan state near
the Thai border. The two sides have since been confronting each
other across the banks of the Salween river.
   Khun Sa, alias Chang Si-fu, 60, has been indicted by a court
in the United States on heroin trafficking charges.
   He has an army of an estimated 10,000 guerrillas and says he
is fighting for the independence of Shan State.
   But Thai and U.S. narcotics-suppression officials dismiss
Khun Sa's political pronouncements and say his army's main
function is to provide security for his narcotics business.


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