SUMMARY

The SSRA (Shan State Revolutionary Army) was a rebel group that fought a brief intrastate armed conflict over territory against the Government of Myanmar (Burma) in 1976. While the group was, at least nominally, one of the groups active in the Shan separatist conflict, it was mainly motivated by criminal objectives; the SSRA was for example highly involved in the illicit opium trade in Southeast Asia.

The founder and leader of the SSRA was Lo Hsing-minh, who created the group on 2 August 1976. The SSRA was created from the remnants of a Ka Kwe Ye (KKY) unit that had been led by Lo Hsing-minh’s older brother, Lo Hsing-han. The KKY was a “home guard” organized by the Government of Myanmar (Burma) in 1963, to fight the plethora of armed rebel groups active in the country. Lo’s KKY unit, as all other similar groups, was disbanded in 1973. The members of the SSRA were mostly from the Chinese Kokang ethnic minority group, which resided in the Shan state. It was estimated that the SSRA might have had as many as 3000 fighters in 1976. The group never managed to transform into an effective armed group, and after 1976, it was mainly involved in criminal activities.