Myanmar forces recover 13 rebel bodies, capture 8 others

Myanmar government troops have found the bodies of over a dozen rebel forces near the restive border with China, state media reports.

The government forces recovered the dead bodies of 13 rebels and captured eight injured ones, Myanma Ahlin, a state-run daily, reported on Sunday, adding that as many as 89 weapons belonging to the ethnic rebel forces were also seized.

The Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported on Friday that 47 government troops had been killed during four days of fighting with rebels in the Kokang region of Shan State, a predominantly ethnic Chinese northern border area.

State-run media said the fighting raged after the rebels shelled the army headquarters in Kongyan area on Thursday. Government forces then retaliated with five airstrikes.

The fresh wave of unrest, which broke out in the area on February 9, could further undermine government efforts to establish peace in the north.

The escalation comes against a backdrop of government attempts to forge a peace deal in the Shan State which borders China’s Yunnan Province.

Myanmar had hoped to sign the long-delayed peace agreement on February 12 when the country marked its annual Union Day.

The new spate of violence has forced the government to include the concept of federalism in the talks with ethnic Chinese rebels, a move which shows Naypyidaw’s growing fear of collapse in negotiations and a potential breakaway of its northern states.

Myanmar’s government, which replaced junta rule in 2011, has vowed to end the civil wars, which have been flaring on and off since independence, as a key part of its reforms.

IA/KA/HMV

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