ALA and Burmese Army Clash

Sittwe: The Arakan Liberation Army, or ALA, has recently clashed with a Burmese army unit in a confrontation on the frontlines in Paletwa Township in southern Chin State in Burma, said a spokesperson for the ALA.

The ALA is the armed wing of the Arakan Liberation Party that is based in the triangle border area of Burma, Bangladesh, and India.

"The confrontation happened between our forces led by Lieutenant Khine Soe Naing and Burmese troops led by Major Khin Maung Than from LIB 344 based in Sittwe, around 5:30 pm on 27 November between Khamaungwa and Kintalin Villages in Paletwa Township. We heard there was a casualty on the Burmese side, but nothing happened to our forces," said Khaing Thukha, Secretary 2 of the ALP.

He said the recent clash was the latest and seventh event between the ALA and the Burmese army in 2011, and over ten soldiers, including officers, have been killed, with several others injured in the Burmese army. Only one soldier from the ALA was killed in the clashes, and a number of soldiers were injured.

However, no independent confirmation of casualties in the Burmese army is yet available.

The ALA has been fighting against the Burmese army for freedom of ethnic people in Burma not only on the western frontier, but also in cooperation with the Karen National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Karen National Union on the eastern frontier.

Khaing Thukha said there is no prospect that the ALA will enter into a peace accord with the Burmese regime, and it will continue to fight a guerilla war against the regime until ethnic freedom and rights are ensured in Burma.

The Arakan Liberation Army was founded by the late General Khing Moe Lunn in 1973 on the eastern frontier within the region of the Karen National Union on the Thai-Burmese border.

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