126 Myanmar soldiers dead, 359 hurt in Kokang region

More than 120 Myanmar soldiers have been killed so far in a major offensive to flush ethnic Kokang rebels from strategic hilltops in the restive northeastern part of the Southeast Asian country bordering China.

A total of 126 government troopers have been killed and 359 others injured since the conflict erupted in the remote Kokang region of Shan State on February 9, state-owned Myawaddy television network reported on Sunday.

The report added that Myanmar government soldiers have recovered 74 bodies of ethnic Chinese rebels from the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), known as the Kokang army, arrested 22 MNDAA fighters and confiscated considerable amounts of munitions.

However, a spokesman for the rebel forces said Kokang troops, who have declared their will to continue fighting until achieving autonomy, were still in control of hilltops in the Shan state.

“We also lost at least 90 members in the fighting since early January, but we can still control our region,” Htut Myat Lin said.

The unrest in Kokang region has forced tens of thousands of local residents to flee the area and seek refuge in China.

Beijing has criticized the Myanmar government for conducting air strikes on the Chinese territory near the border between the two countries, which killed several civilians there a month ago.

Myanmar has been wracked by unrest since its independence from Britain in 1948 as militancy flares among minority groups demanding greater autonomy.

Last month, Myanmar's junta-backed President Thein Sein hailed a historic draft peace deal with a host of rebel groups to end decades of civil war.

Kokang militants were not part of the deal. The self-administered Chinese-speaking Kokang region has been in a state of emergency since fighting erupted in the region on February 9 between government forces and MNDAA, the main militant group in Kokang.

Another ethnic armed group in Shan State, which is involved in the peace talks with the government, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), has expressed support for the Kokang militants.

Although the Kokang rebels are not directly involved in the peace talks, the ongoing fighting has drawn condemnation from the coalition of rebel groups at the negotiating table, who are yet to formally ratify the draft of the ceasefire deal.

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