The Burma Army (BA) have set up spot checks in connection with a column of its soldiers travelling between the towns of Maw Han and Mohnyin, an area in Kachin State where regime troops are frequently attacked by the People’s Defence Forces (PDF), which are trying to overthrow the military regime.
An anonymous source said the soldiers have been randomly checking cars, trucks and buses, but not motorbikes, near the two towns since 20 September. “We see only a few soldiers stopping vehicles, but many others are hiding along the road,” between Mohnyin and Maw Han, a distance of 12 miles, says the source. He suspects there are over 50 BA soldiers in the column that came from Mohnyin.
A motorist, who wishes to remain anonymous, told KNG that the soldiers want to know where they’re going, what items they’re carrying and why they’re on the road. If they suspect anything, they stop the vehicle and search it, said the man, who was travelling between the towns on 22 September.
Last April, the PDF attacked four regime checkpoints on the Nansi Awng – Maw Han – Mohnyin road, stopping anyone who passed them. Since the raids, the junta has removed them.
Both the BA and the PDF remain strong in Mohnyin Township and neighbouring Katha and Indaw townships in Sagaing Region, where fighting is frequent.
