by force. From 1999 to 2002, 80,000 former opium farmers from the northern area of Wa State were forcefully resettled into the more fertile south for food production, improving food security and laying the groundwork for a ban on drug production in Wa State. Some groups report that thousands died as a result of resettlement.

Tensions between the central government and Wa State were heightened in 2009. During this time, peace initiative proposals by Wa State were rejected by the Myanmar government. The government warned on 27 April 2010