The political wing of the Shan State Army urged the Burmese military to approach the SSA liaison office before breaking ceasefires in the future, the Shan Herald Agency for News reported on Thursday. Lt Gen Yawd Serk of the SSA said the offices were there for a reason: to avoid unnecessary violence. Since the ceasefire was signed in December 2011, the two sides have fought more than 50 times. While the military claims the latest violence was due to territorial ambitions of the Shan, the Shan deny this, saying they were attacked for stamping out drug syndicates allied to Naypyidaw.