The Shan State Army, or SSA, was an army formed in 1964 to resist the military government of Burma in Shan State.
It later split into two factions, usually known in English as the Shan State Army - South or SSA-S, which continues to oppose the government, and the Shan State Army - North or SSA-N, which is more conciliatory towards the government. The Burmese government wishes the Shan State Army - North to join its border guard force. Two of the three brigades are reported to have agreed to join the border guard, while the other has refused.
There is also an Eastern Shan State Army or ESSA, which is more commonly known by the title National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), established in 1989 by Sai Hleng. The name is NDAA-ESSA is also used. It is reportedly based in Mongla near the Chinese border in Eastern Shan State region. It is variously reported to be led by Sai Leun, a former senior figure in the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) or Yang Mao-liang. The ESSA was in a cease-fire agreement with the government from 1989 to 2009.
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