December 13, 200619 yr The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Border Clashes Draw Attention SUBIN KHEUNKAEW Chiang Rai - The Pha Muang task force in Chiang Rai is carefully monitoring the border situation for possible incursions and is preparing for a spillover following a mass mobilisation of Burmese troops to attack Shan State Army (SSA) forces. Task force commander Maj-Gen Wannatip Wongwai said Thai border forces have been put on alert for a possible clash between the two sides at the border demarcation line, just 800 metres away from Poona village in Chiang Rai's Mae Fah Luang district. There have been reports of clashes near Tachilek on the Burmese side over the past four days. Military personnel are preparing to evacuate nearby villagers to a safe area if the situation intensifies, he said. A military report said six battalions of Burmese troops were recently mobilised and had passed Burma's Ban Hong military base opposite Thailand's Chiang Dao district in Chiang Mai. On Sunday, two divisions from the United Wa State Army had arrived as reinforcements from Pang Sang in northern Burma. The SSA believes the combined forces are front-line troops which are set to invade its stronghold with backing from the Burmese junta, which provides heavy weapons to the troopers. Maj-Gen Wannatip said the conflict was Burma's internal affair and Thailand would maintain a non-partisan role.
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