Jurry Chai : Two battalions under Military Operation Management Command (MOMC) No.19 are expected to arrive and establish themselves at Three Pagodas Pass Town (TPP) on the Thai – Burma border.
Infantry Battalions (IB) No. 283 and 284 are expected to arrive and set up bases in the TPP area in the immediate future. Both battalions were previously based in Kyainnseikyi Township, Karen State. Each battalion contains roughly 110 troops.
According to a TPP authority, both battalion commanders, a tactical commander, and multiple officers will be included in the move. Originally, IB No. 32, the battalion previously in control of the TPP area, was set to exchange base areas with the two new battalions, and relocate to Kyainnseikyi Township. This source informed IMNA that plans have changed, and IB. 32 will remain in it’s post, leaving TPP town until the control of three Burmese army battalions.
“We heard that they will arrive this evening and will settle down at the border” said this officer yesterday. The status of these two battalions, and whether or not they have arrived in TPP, cannot be confirmed.
As mentioned in IMNA’s September 22nd article, the immanent arrival of new Burmese army battalions in the TPP area has led individuals involved in the region’s illegal timber export trade to conceal their activities. Gambling and illegal imports have also reportedly gone underground.
The two new battalions’ relocation has reportedly already been marked with conflict. According to a source close to TPP authorities, the battalions engaged in a skirmish with an armed group, on its march from Kyainnseikyi town to Taungsone village, en route to TPP.
Colonel Ba Doe Saw Htaynay, from Karen National Union (KNU) Division 6, reported that late this month 24 infantry men from an IB No. 283 column led by Lieutenant Colonel Myat Tun Aye fought with KNU division 6, in the area north of Laypoo village, Taungsone village group, Kyainnseikyi town. The skirmish reportedly lasted only five minutes, and only one soldier, from IB 283, was wounded.
A military observer from the TPP area reported that between the years of 2007 and 2008, the Burmese army battalion in control of the area surveyed the Mekata forest, on the border between TPP and Chaungzone village; he speculated that the two new battalions might settle in this area.
