The Shan State Army (;

abbreviated An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening, contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened form of a word, usually ended with a trailing per ...

SSA or SSPP/SSA), also known as Shan State Army – North (SSA-N) or Shan State Army/Special Region 3 (SSA/SR-3) is a

Shan nationalist The Shan people (, , or , ), also known as the Tai Long (တႆးလူင်, ) or Tai Yai, are a Tai ethnic group of Southeast Asia. The Shan are the biggest minority of Burma (Myanmar) and primarily live in the Shan State, but also inhabi ...

insurgent group in

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

(Burma). It is the armed wing of the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP).

History

The

Shan State Army The Shan State Army (; abbreviated SSA) was one of the largest insurgent groups that fought government forces in Shan State, Myanmar (Burma). The SSA was founded in 1964 after the merging of two existing insurgent groups. The SSA recruite ...

was founded on 24 April 1964 and the Shan State Progress Party was founded in 1971 as the political wing of the SSA. In 1989, the SSPP signed a ceasefire in 1989 after negotiations with the

State Peace and Development Council The State Peace and Development Council ( ; abbreviated SPDC or , ) was the official name of the Military dictatorship, military government of Burma (Myanmar) which, in 1997, succeeded the State Law and Order Restoration Council (; abbrevi ...

and was able to obtain a degree of autonomy for the areas under its control, establishing the ''Special Region 3'' of the Shan State. This area included Nam Kham, Langkho, Hsipaw, Kyauk Mae, Mong Hsu, Tang Yang, Mongyai, Kehsi and Lashio Township. The size of the armed group at that time was of about 4.000 fighters. Even after having signed a ceasefire, the

Burmese military The Tatmadaw, also known as the Sit-Tat, is the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence (Myanmar), Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air For ...

continued to attack the Shan State Army (SSPP) areas. Although the SSPP/SSA is more conciliatory towards the government than other armed Shan separatist groups, in 2005 it abandoned its base rather than disarm. At one point the Burmese government wished the Shan State Army (SSPP) to join its border guard force. Two of the three brigades reportedly agreed to join the border guard, while the other refused.

Renewed hostilities

In 2014 the group has clashed with the Burmese army in Kehsi Mansam Township, home to the SSPP/SSA Wanhai headquarters. Beginning on 6 October 2015 a large scale offensive by the

Tatmadaw The Tatmadaw, also known as the Sit-Tat, is the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include ...

comprising 20 Burma Army battalions has been launched in central Shan State. The aim of the military is to seize Shan ceasefire territories in

Kehsi Kyethi (;) (Kyethi or Kehsi) is the main town of Kyethi Township, Mong Hsu District, in the Shan State of Burma. The main town is Kesi (Kyethi or Kehsi). Highway 442 passes through Kyethi town. History Kehsi, located by the Nam Heng River, was ...

Mong Nawng Mong Nawng, Mong Naung or Mongnawng is a town in Shan State, Myanmar. It is located a few miles to the west of the Nam Pang river. Etymology The name "Mong Nawng" means "town near a lake" in Shan, and is transliterated into Burmese as Maingn ...

, Mong Hsu and Tangyan townships, using heavy artillery and with fighter jet and helicopter gunship air support to indiscriminately shell and bomb civilian areas. These attacks have displaced thousands of Shan, Palaung,

Lisu Lisu may refer to: *Lisu people, an ethnic group of the mountainous regions of Yunnan (China), Arunachal Pradesh (India), northern Myanmar and Thailand *Lisu language, Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Lisu people **Fraser script or Old Lisu A ...

and

Lahu people The Lahu people (; ; Lāhùzú; ) are an ethnic group native to China, Myanmar, and the rest of Southeast Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia. Etymology The Chinese name "Lahu" is a phono-semantic matching of the Lahu endonym, and literally means ...

causing a new humanitarian crisis.

2021–2024 Myanmar Civil War

On 30 November 2023, SSPP/SSA declared a truce with

Shan State Army (RCSS) The Shan State Army (; Abbreviation, abbreviated SSA or RCSS/SSA), also known as the Shan State Army – South (SSA-S), is the armed wing of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and one of the largest Insurgency in Myanmar, insurgent gr ...

, with the SSPP/SSA stating that they intended to unite in the future. On 3 May, the Vice-

Chairperson The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

of the Shan State Progress Party announced that it and its armed forces, the Shan State Army, would join revolutionary forces, and that a political solution to the conflict was "impossible". Later, on 5 May, the vice-chairperson retracted his statement, stating the decision to declare war on the junta was not made. The SSPP/SSA was criticized for detaining parents and forcefully training them with weapons until at least one of their sons joins their ranks.

Organisation

The SSPP/SSA originally had three brigades: the 1st, 3rd, and 7th brigades,Shan Herald
but two brigades, the 3rd and 7th, surrendered in 2009.

Notes

References

External links

2011.05.21 Shan State Army North & South join forces against Burma Army

SSA – North loses Mongsu camp to Burma Army

Shanland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shan State Army - South Shan militia groups Politics of Myanmar 1971 establishments in Burma Ethnic armed organisations in Myanmar