Beijing urges ceasefire after deadly Myanmar clash
YANGON: China yesterday condemned fighting on its border between Myanmar forces and ethnic rebels that has left 19 dead, mostly civilians, in some of the worst violence to rattle the restive frontier in recent years.
The fighting erupted on Saturday when ethnic-minority insurgent groups, who are locked in a long-running battle with the Myanmar state, attacked security posts around Muse, a border town and trade hub in northeastern Shan state.
A local resident said she heard gunfire through the night until early yesterday morning, with fear gripping a town that lives at the mercy of both government militias and ethnic armies fighting for more autonomy.
“We heard shooting the whole night until this morning around 6am. We do not know what was going on and who was fighting,” said Muse resident Aye Aye.
Saturday’s carnage, which also left at least 27 injured, was one of the bloodiest days in a long-running rebellion that is separate from the Rohingya crisis to the west.
Fighting in the remote region early last year sent more 20,000 refugees scrambling across the border into China’s Yunnan province, raising tensions.
Yesterday, the Chinese embassy here condemned the clashes and said it had urged “relevant parties” to reach a ceasefire. The violence “made people from the Myanmar side flee across the Chinese border, and stray bullets have entered into Chinese territory”, the statement added.
Observers believe Beijing holds sway over the ethnic rebels near its border and is a key player in a faltering peace process steered by Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi.