A Shan rebel leader living in exile died on the weekend.
Sao Hso Khan Pha aka Tiger Yawnghwe, “President” of the Interim Shan Government set up in 2005, passed away at his home in Alberta, Canada, on October 2, reports the Shan Herald Agency for News October 4, citing friends and siblings.
Sao Hso Khan Pha was born on 15 April 1938. He was the eldest son of the late Sao Shwe Thaike, Prince of Yawnghwe and the first President of independent Burma (1948-52), and the late Mahadevi Sao Nang Hearn Hkam, founder and President of the Shan State War Council/ Shan State Army (SSWC/SSA), reports SHAN.
Most of his life was spent in exile.  In 2005, he was elected as President by a conference held in southern Shan State, organized by a splinter group from the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA). His efforts collapsed within a few years, after failing to receive support from major Shan movements, according to the report.