YANGON (Reuters) - Some 30 people died in clashes between ethnic rebels and Myanmar security forces in a restive area along the border with China on Monday, the government said, dealing a blow to leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s goal of reaching peace with minorities.

Suu Kyi’s nearly one-year-old government is increasingly besieged by ethnic rebels, grappling with an alliance of militias in the north and a new Rohingya insurgency rebelling against decades of persecution in the northwest of the country.

The attack came after the Nobel Peace Prize winner met a delegation of ethnic armed groups last week to convince them to take part in a major peace conference. Suu Kyi swept to power in 2015 on promises of national reconciliation and the meeting was aimed at giving fresh impetus to the stuttering peace process.

“I strongly urge all sides to come to the peace negotiating table by abandoning the armed attacks, which have caused many deaths and problems for the citizens, who are not guilty, and the residents of the area,” Suu Kyi said in a statement reacting to the assault released late on Monday.

Fighters from the predominantly ethnic Chinese Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) launched a pre-dawn attack on police posts, military installations and government administrators in the capital of the northeastern Kokang region, Laukkai.

As a result, some 30 people died, including civilians and police officers. Hotels and cars were destroyed and four policemen have been taken hostage, the government said.

MNDAA is a part of the Northern Alliance - a coalition of rebel groups comprising one of Myanmar’s most powerful militias, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and two smaller groups that have been in a stand-off with the Myanmar military since clashes in the Kokang area in 2015.

Many died and tens of thousands fled the region during that fighting, which also spilled over into Chinese territory and resulted in the death of five Chinese people, angering Beijing.

Myanmar state television, MRTV, said the fighting with MNDAA was continuing at the time of Suu Kyi’s statement.</s>Hanoi (VNA) – Clashes on March 6 in Laukkai town in Myanmar’s eastern Shan state, left more than 30 dead.

 

 The Myanmar State Counsellor Office said the incidents occurred after insurgent gunmen in police uniform attacked police and military stations.

 

 Another group of gunmen attacked parts of Laukkai town.

 

 The office accused the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) of staging the attacks.

 

 Initial information showed at least five citizens and five local policemen dead. More than 20 gunmen were killed.

 

 A military source said the conflict was continuing and local people have been fleeing.

 

 Clashes in Shan state have killed more than 160 people since late 2016.-VNA</s>YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar says at least 30 people were killed in fighting triggered by a pre-dawn attack by an ethnic rebel group in the country's northeast bordering China.

The office of the country's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, blamed the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army for the Monday morning attack, which it said killed five civilians and five police officers. It said the bodies of 20 other people were found after the fighting in the town of Laukkai in northern Shan state. It was not clear if the 20 were among the estimated 50 attackers.</s>BEIJING: China on Tuesday called for an immediate ceasefire between ethnic rebels and Myanmar security forces in a restive border area, urging the two sides to resolve their differences through peaceful means instead.

China is giving humanitarian help to people from Myanmar who have fled fighting that has killed about 30 people and dealt a blow to Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi's goal of reaching peace with minorities.

"The situation in northern Myanmar relates to the peace and tranquillity of the China-Myanmar border," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing.

"The relevant parties should have an immediate ceasefire to prevent the clashes from escalating and return normal order to the border as soon as possible."

He added, "Since the clashes began, some Myanmar border residents have entered into China on safety considerations."

China is providing assistance on humanitarian grounds, Geng said, adding that he had no information about any Chinese casualties.

He urged both sides to adopt peaceful means in resolving their differences through dialogue and consultation.

Suu Kyi's nearly one-year-old government is increasingly besieged by ethnic rebels, grappling with an alliance of militias in the north and a new Rohingya insurgency rebelling against decades of persecution in the country's northwest.

The attack came after the Nobel Peace Prize winner met a delegation of ethnic armed groups last week to convince them to participate in a major peace conference.

Suu Kyi swept to power in 2015 on promises of national reconciliation and the meeting was aimed at giving fresh impetus to the stuttering peace process.

Fighters of the predominantly ethnic Chinese Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) launched a pre-dawn attack on police, military and government sites in Laukkai, the capital of Myanmar's northeastern region of Kokang.

MNDAA is a part of the Northern Alliance coalition of rebel groups comprising one of Myanmar's most powerful militias, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and two smaller groups caught in a stand-off with the military since 2015 clashes in the region.

Many died and tens of thousands fled during that fighting, which also spilled over into China's territory and resulted in the death of five of its people, angering Beijing.</s>YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar says at least 30 people were killed in fighting triggered by a pre-dawn attack by an ethnic rebel group in the country’s northeast bordering China.

The office of the country’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, blamed the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army for the Monday morning attack, which it said killed five civilians and five police officers. It said the bodies of 20 other people were found after the fighting in the town of Laukkai in northern Shan state. It was not clear if the 20 were among the estimated 50 attackers.

Fierce fighting between the government and the rebel group, which represents the Kokang, an ethnic Chinese minority, last occurred in 2015, sending tens of thousands of civilians fleeing across the border to China.</s>YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar's government urged ethnic rebel groups on Tuesday to join talks to achieve a nationwide peace agreement even after one of the groups raided a government-controlled town in an attack that killed five policemen and five civilians, including a schoolteacher.

The office of military commander-in-chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing charged that the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, which represents the ethnic Chinese Kokang minority, had attacked Laukkai in northern Shan state on Monday as part of a long-term effort to create a "liberated zone under their control."

A statement from the commander's office said the Kokang and other ethnic rebel groups that have not yet signed cease-fire pacts were still welcome to take part in a peace conference later this month if they abandon armed struggle.

At the same time, it seemed to express pessimism over the prospects for participation by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army along with the Arakan Army and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army. The three groups, along with the Kachin Independence Army, last year formed a "Northern Alliance" to coordinate military action against government forces they accuse of carrying out attacks against them.

The government of Aung San Suu Kyi has been trying to reach a comprehensive peace agreement with the country's ethnic minorities, which for decades have been fighting for greater autonomy. Most have signed bilateral cease-fires, but combat continues in the north, which borders China. Lucrative border trade opportunities complicate efforts to reach a peace agreement.

On Monday, the government's National Reconciliation and Peace Center said the attack in Shan state caused problems for ethnic minority people in the area and jeopardized chances for improving the situation of ethnic minorities nationwide.

"I want to urge everyone to abandon the armed attacks that cause death and destruction for local ethnic groups and return to the peace table and join the peace journey that all ethnic citizens have been longing for," said the statement from the center, chaired by Suu Kyi.

The military's statement said the raid on Laukkai, which was eventually repelled, was part of a seven-pronged attack and that government security forces had suffered casualties in some of the other clashes. It said other groups that it did not name may have joined forces with the Kokang.</s>YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar's government is urging ethnic rebel groups to join talks to achieve a nationwide peace agreement even after one of the groups raided a government-controlled town Monday in an attack that killed five policemen and five civilians.

The office of military Commander-in-Chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing charged that the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army — which represents the ethnic Chinese Kokang minority — had attacked Laukkai in northern Shan state to try to create a liberated zone under rebel control.

The statement the commander's office issued Tuesday said the Kokang and other ethnic rebel groups that have not yet signed cease-fire pacts were still welcome to take part in a peace conference later this month if they abandon armed struggle.</s>Yangon: At least six police officers were killed on Monday in a surprise predawn raid by ethnic minority rebels on a town in a restive region of Myanmar bordering China, an army source said.

Artillery and small arms fire continued throughout Monday in Laukkai, a main town in the Kokang region of the northeastern state of Shan.

Fighting in 2015 in Kokang, which is dominated by the Chinese-speaking Kokang ethnic minority, left scores dead as the area emerged as a new centre of violence.

Myanmar is already torn by various ethnic insurgencies and the Kokang clashes raised tensions with neighbouring China.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s government is desperate to end the decades-long borderland conflicts, but intensifying fighting threatens peace efforts.

Rebels from the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) struck a police station and killed six traffic police officers, an army source told AFP, requesting anonymity.

“Rebels torched some vehicles and set fire to some hotels in Laukkai town. They fired heavy artillery into the town ... so our Tatmadaw is fighting back to protect the people,” the source added, using another term for the Myanmar army.

Unverified video shared on social media appeared to show parts of the town still ablaze on Monday afternoon while civilians scurried to safety amid the rattle of small arms fire.

The Northern Alliance, an umbrella group of rebels including the MNDAA has yet to join national peace talks. It confirmed its members were fighting in Laukkai.

But in a Facebook post it said they carried out the attack “to resist an enemy offensive in self-defence” and cited Myanmar military operations since December.

In early 2015 dozens of civilians, rebels and army troops died in months of fighting across the remote and mountainous region, sending tens of thousands of people fleeing across the border into China.

China said Myanmar warplanes dropped bombs on its side of the border during that bout of fighting.

Kokang has strong bonds with China — local people speak a Chinese dialect and China’s yuan is the common currency.

Skirmishes have intensified across Shan state since late last year, claiming more than 160 lives across an arc of land in the long border region.</s>YANGON: At least 30 people were killed on Monday (Mar 6) in a day of intense fighting in a town on Myanmar's border with China, authorities said, after rebels dressed in police uniforms launched a surprise raid.

Artillery and small arms fire continued throughout the day in Laukkai, a main town in the Kokang region of the northeastern state of Shan.

The clashes are some of the worst to break out in the Chinese-speaking Kokang region since fighting in 2015 left scores dead and forced tens of thousands to flee across the border into China.

Myanmar is already torn by various ethnic insurgencies. But the Kokang conflict has raised tensions with its giant neighbour.

Aung San Suu Kyi's government is desperate to end the decades-long borderland conflicts, but intensifying fighting threatens peace efforts.

Rebels from the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) launched an attack early Monday against police and military posts, according to Suu Kyi's office.

A separate group of fighters later attacked locations in the main town.

"According to initial information, many innocent civilians including a primary school teacher ... were killed because of attacks by the MNDAA armed group," the State Counsellor's Office said in a statement, adding some attackers wore local police uniforms.

The statement, accompanied by grisly pictures of the dead and wounded, said at least five civilians and five local police were killed in the fighting. It added that a further 20 "burned bodies" had been found alongside weapons.

Unverified video shared on social media appeared to show parts of the town still ablaze on Monday afternoon while civilians scurried to safety amid the rattle of small arms fire.

An army source told AFP fighting was continuing as darkness fell. "Residents in town are fleeing. We do not know exact figures yet," the officer said.

The Northern Alliance, an umbrella group of rebels including the MNDAA which has yet to join national peace talks, confirmed its members were fighting in Laukkai.

But in a Facebook post it said they carried out the attack "to resist an enemy offensive in self-defence" and cited Myanmar military operations since December.

The latest fighting raises the spectre of a fresh refugee exodus into China.

In early 2015 tens of thousands fled there when dozens of civilians, rebels and army troops died in months of fighting across the remote and mountainous region.

China said Myanmar warplanes dropped bombs on its side of the border during that bout of fighting.

Kokang has strong bonds with China - local people speak a Chinese dialect and China's yuan is the common currency. Observers say Beijing holds considerable sway over the rebels.

Skirmishes with the Northern Alliance have intensified across Shan state since late last year, claiming more than 160 lives across an arc of land in the long border region.</s>Authorities say rebels attacked Chinese-speaking Kokang region while armed group says violence was self-defence.

At least 30 people have been killed in a region on Myanmar's border with China after rebels - some dressed in police uniforms - launched a surprise attack, according to authorities.

Monday's clashes were some of the worst to break out in the Chinese-speaking Kokang region of the northeastern state of Shan since fighting in 2015 left scores dead and forced tens of thousands to flee across the border into China.

Rebels from the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) group launched an attack early on Monday against police and military posts in Kokang, according to the office of Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's de facto leader.

A separate group of fighters later attacked locations in Laukkai, a main town in Kokang.

"According to initial information, many innocent civilians including a primary school teacher... were killed because of attacks by the MNDAA armed group," the state counsellor's office said in a statement.

It also said some attackers wore local police uniforms.

The statement, accompanied by graphic pictures of the dead and wounded, said at least five civilians and five local police were killed in the fighting.

It also said that a further 20 "burned bodies" had been found alongside weapons.

Zaw Htay, the government spokesman, told AFP news agency that the 20 bodies were of MNDAA fighters.

Unverified video shared on social media appeared to show parts of the town still ablaze on Monday afternoon while civilians scurried to safety amid the rattle of small arms fire.

An army source told AFP that the fighting was continuing as darkness fell.

"Residents in town are fleeing. We do not know exact figures yet," the officer said.

The Northern Alliance, an umbrella group of rebels including the MNDAA which has yet to join national peace talks, confirmed its members were fighting in Laukkai.

But in a Facebook post it said they carried out the attack "to resist an enemy offensive in self-defence" and cited Myanmar military operations since December.

Myanmar is torn by multiple ethnic conflicts, but the Kokang conflict has raised tensions with China.

The latest fighting raises the spectre of a fresh refugee exodus into China.

In early 2015 tens of thousands fled there when dozens of civilians, rebels and army troops died in months of fighting across the remote and mountainous region.

China said Myanmar warplanes dropped bombs on its side of the border during that bout of fighting.

Kokang has strong bonds with China - local people speak a Chinese dialect and China's yuan is the common currency.

Observers say China's government holds considerable sway over the rebels.

Clashes with the Northern Alliance have intensified across Shan state since late last year, claiming more than 160 lives across an arc of land in the long border region.
According to the government of Myanmar, at least 30 people are killed in an attack on various police, military, and government installations by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army in Laukkai. Four police officers were also taken hostage.