Yangon (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The death toll from a week of fighting in Shan State between the Burmese army and the Kokang rebel militia, known as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), is of 50 soldiers.
The
area, in
eastern Myanmar on the border
with China has been subject to a heavy
air offensive in response to rebel attacks according to reports from
the official state newspaper the Global New Light of Myanmar. Local witnesses
say that it is the heaviest fighting seen in over two years. Meanwhile, the central
government in Naypyidaw is
trying - so far
vain - to reach a
peace agreement with ethnic
rebels.
About 10 thousand people have fled the conflict
zone. The Chinese government reports
that some groups of displaced
people have crossed the border, seeking
refuge in the southern province of
Yunnan.
Local sources said that in recent
days, there have been 13 different fighting between
the two sides. The rebels attacked
army positions near Laukai, in the area controlled by the Kokang; at least
47 soldiers were killed,
more than 73 wounded
and five military vehicles destroyed.
The pro-government newspaper does not speak of casualties among the rebels. However, the Irrawaddy newspaper,
based in Thailand, reports that the MNDAA Secretary General claims there are "two dead and one wounded", among the ranks of the militia.
The Kokang are
an ethnic group descended from the
Han Chinese and their armed wing is what remains of the Communist Party of Burma, dissolved in 1989. For
years they have independently
ruled a strip of land along the northeastern
border between China and Myanmar.
Analysts and local political experts
explain that the return of one of the Kokang group leaders, Phone Kya Shin, after five
years of exile in China is behind
this latest wave of violence. In 2009 he left the country to escape Burmese troops; he decided to return to
defend - again - "the Kokang
people's rights ".
For decades the government of Myanmar - a nation
composed of 135 ethnic
groups, often in conflict with
the central power - sought to contain the conflict
with rebel groups seeking greater autonomy, particularly the Kachin and Shan.
Burmese President Thein Sein has long worked to reach a peace agreement; many groups are ready to sign up, despite sporadic outbreaks of violence. Yesterday, in conjunction with Independence Day, a new round of talks was held in the capital, which ended in stalemate.