Troops gather at border as row with maverick general heats up

Bangkokpost, Published: 6/05/2012 at 02:51 AM     ...

TAK: The Myanmar army has stationed about 30 troops at the foot of the Myawaddy-Mae Sot friendship bridge inside Myanmar in the wake of conflicts between Thailand and the Karen rebel group under the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA).

The move is aimed at preventing the Karen rebel group, led by Maj Gen Na Kaw Muay, from seizing the bridge, a border source said.

Maj Gen Na Kaw Muay, who controls some areas opposite Tak's Mae Sot district, threatened to shut down the bridge inside the Myanmar town of Myawaddy after he successfully deployed armed Karen soldiers to seal the Myanmar border with Ban Mahawong, Ban Mae Kon Ken and Ban Mahawan villages of tambon Mahawan in Mae Sot.

The border source said Maj Gen Na Kaw Muay had also submitted a letter to the leader of the DKBA, asking him to deploy more troops to close down the friendship bridge and all piers opposite tambon Tha Sai Luad in Mae Sot district, but he had not not received a reply.

The border closure ordered by Maj Gen Na Kaw Muay prevented Myanmar people from crossing the Moei River to buy goods in Tak.

The move came in retaliation after the Thai government accused the senior Karen soldier of involvement in border drugs trafficking and asking the court to issue a warrant for his arrest in 2003.

His alleged involvement in the drug trade hit the news after Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, who oversees the country's drug suppression efforts, revealed that Maj Gen Na Kaw Muay is ranked fifth on the Office of the Narcotics Control Board's list of the 25 most-wanted drug kingpins and has a one million baht bounty on his head.

When Maj Gen Na Kaw Muay sealed off border points under his control, the Thai Army's Fourth Infantry Task Force in Mae Sot district deployed troops to step up security in the three villages opposite to the areas under the Karen soldier's control.

The source said the security situation on the Thai side is still normal.

Boon Pankaew, a pier operator in Ban Huay Muang village, called on the two countries to solve the border problem as quickly as possible.

 http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/292025/troops-gather-at-border-as-row-with-maverick-general-heats-up