Myanmar road threatens Thais

Myanmar road threatens Thais

BANGKOK (AFP): A road being built inside the Myanmar border will facilitate drug trafficking and Myanmar troop movements and poses a major security threat to Thailand, an army chief said in a report on Wednesday.

Thai military sources say Myanmar's government has given the ethnic United Wa State Army (UWSA) the go-ahead to build the road and move into territory held by the rival Shan State Army (SSA).

The junta is using the feared "Red Wa" fighters in their campaign against the Shan, one of the few armed factions left in Myanmar that has yet to sign a ceasefire with the government, they say.

Lt. Gen. Watanachai Chaimuenwong, the commander of Thailand's Third Army which patrols the border, told The Bangkok Post that the road was designed to help the Wa smuggle drugs to their Maung Yawn stronghold.