Myanmar army hits back at rebels along Chinese border
PUBLISHED : Friday, 20 February, 2015, 10:17pm
UPDATED : Friday, 20 February, 2015, 10:17pm
Agence France-Presse in Lashio
An injured Red Cross worker after the convoy attack.Photo: AFP
Myanmar's army has continued an offensive to flush out rebels from areas around a flashpoint town on the northeastern border with China, defying Beijing's ceasefire calls after 11 days of fighting that have displaced tens of thousands of people.
The conflict, which flared on February 9 when ethnic Kokang rebels killed nearly 50 soldiers during an a series of attacks on Laukkai town, has seen at least 30,000 people flee into China.
A similar number of people are believed to be displaced within Myanmar's northern Shan state, but clear estimates are hard to obtain as local aid groups have limited operations after a Myanmar Red Cross convoy came under fire.
The army has struck back against the rebels with air strikes and ground forces, after apparently being caught flat-footed by the pace and ferocity of the initial rebel assault.
"Army columns were in hot pursuit of Kokang insurgents into retreat," around the Laukkai area, state newspaper the Global New Light of Myanmar reported yesterday. The report said the bodies of two rebels were recovered by Myanmar soldiers after fighting early on Thursday to secure roads leading to Laukkai - now an apparent ghost town.
Rebels say they have also inflicted casualties on army over recent days.
The conflict has renewed doubts over a government attempt to forge a nationwide ceasefire in a country peppered with bitter ethnic insurgencies.
The Kokang, who are mainly ethnic Chinese, have continued ambushes on army convoys despite losing dozens of men in the government pushback.
They have been joined by other nearby rebel groups, including the Ta'ang National Liberation Army and the powerful Kachin Independence Army, an ominous sign for peace in the country as it heads towards a crunch general election this year.
Civilians have continued to stream into the Shan town of Lashio, some 140km from the fighting.
Efforts to evacuate remote communities have been hampered by Tuesday's attack on a local Red Cross convoy, which wounded two aid workers. It is still unclear who shot at the six-vehicle convoy.
