Dozens of Myanmar troops killed fighting northern rebels
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YANGON (AFP) - Heavy recent fighting between Myanmar's army and rebels near the border with China has killed 47 soldiers, state-backed media said Friday, overshadowing hopes of forging ceasefires in the country's many ethnic minority conflicts.
Myanmar has informed Beijing about the clashes, which have raged since February 9, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar, marking a dramatic resurgence of conflict with largely ethnic Chinese rebels in the Kokang region in Shan State.
Kokang fighters with "heavy weapons including anti-aircraft machine guns" attempted to capture the Kokang region's capital Laukkai, just a few miles from the Chinese border, but were repelled by the army, it said.
"So far, the fighting has left government forces with 47 dead, 73 wounded and five vehicles destroyed," said the English language report.
The resurgence of conflict in the Kokang area of Shan state, which had been largely dormant for nearly six years, is an ominous sign for the government as it attempts to forge a comprehensive ceasefire deal with the country's myriad ethnic armed groups.
According to the state media report, a 200-strong force of Kokang rebels attacked a military base in the Kongyan area on Thursday, shelling the headquarters. The army has carried out five airstrikes in retaliation.
Independent analyst Richard Horsey said attacks by the Kokang rebels appeared "quite audacious", adding that fighting was likely to continue.
"Having suffered such significant loses, local commanders are not going to want to give up on this one," he told AFP.
He added that the description of the rebels as "renegades" in state media reporting could be an effort by the government to draw a distinction between the Kokang fighters and the ethnic armed groups taking part in ceasefire negotiations.
