National Democratic Alliance Army

This article is about the armed group in the Mong La area. For the armed group in the Kokang region, see Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army.

The National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA)^{[n 1]} is an insurgent group in eastern Shan State, Myanmar (Burma).^[5] It is the armed wing of the Peace and Solidarity Committee (PSC).

National Democratic Alliance Army
မြန်မာအမျိုးသား ဒီမိုကရက်တစ် မဟာမိတ်တပ်မတော်
Flag of the National Democratic Alliance Army
Leaders	U Sai Leun Sao Hsengla San Pae
Dates of operation	1989 (1989)–present
Headquarters	Mong La
Active regions	Shan State Special Region 4
Ideology	Shan nationalism
Size	3,000[1]–4,000[2]
Part of	Peace and Solidarity Committee (PSC)
Allies	Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army New Democratic Army - Kachin United Wa State Army
Opponents	Myanmar Tatmadaw Union of Myanmar (until 2011)
Preceded by Communist Party of Burma

History

The Mong La area had been under the control of several warlords since the 1960s.^[6] The NDAA was formed in 1989 after splitting from the former Communist Party of Burma (CPB). The strength of the army is 3,000 to 4,000 men.^[2][1]

The NDAA was one of the first groups to sign a ceasefire with the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Armed Forces).^[6] After the ceasefire, the area underwent an economic boom, and the NDAA had benefited financially from increased opium harvests and narcotics trafficking.^[7] The NDAA declared an opium ban in the Mong La region in 1997 and signed a new ceasefire with the Myanmar government in 2011.^[8]

The NDAA maintains close ties with other rebel armed groups that split from the CPB, such as the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the New Democratic Army - Kachin (NDA-K), and the United Wa State Army (UWSA). In 2008 the UWSA was strongly against giving away the area of Mong Pawk from its control because it serves as a link with its ally, the National Democratic Alliance Army in Mong La.^[9]

Notes

1. Also known as the National Democratic Alliance Army – Eastern Shan State (NDAA-ESS), Eastern Shan State Army^[3] and Mong La group. The name "Mong La group" originates from its headquarters in Shan State Special region 4, colloquially known as Mong La area.^[4]