CHIANG MAI-March 7. Burma Army troops have partially withdrawn from Tar Hsarm Pu after seizing Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) outposts, but are forbidding villagers from using this strategic river crossing in central Shan State.

The Burma Army troops had seized the outposts without fighting while leaders of the Shan State Progress Party, the political wing of SSA-N, were in Naypyitaw at the end of February.

Despite the withdrawal from the SSA-N outposts at Tar Hsarm Pu, there remain two Burma Army camps, one in the east, 1 kilometer away, and one in the west 2 kilometers away from Tar Hsarm Pu, each comprised of 50 soldiers. After the partial withdrawal of the Burma Army, the SSA-N returned to its outposts.

An SSPP officer said, “Since the Burma Army moved in around Tar Hsarm Pu, people have not been allowed to cross the river there. They have to travel on the road from Mong Jarng to Mong Su instead of Mong Jarng to Tar Hsarm Pu. It is very difficult for people to travel.”
Tar Hsarm Pu is a strategic crossing over the Pang River, where SSA-N collected tax from transport and mining.

SSPP/SSA signed a ceasefire with Naypyitaw in January 2012. The SSPP/SSA has reportedly engaged in over 100 clashes with the Burma Army since the ceasefire.