China is giving shelter to more than 3,000 people who have fled Myanmar after fighting between the Burmese government and rebels, and stray shells have fallen inside Chinese territory causing minor damage, but no deaths, Chinese state media said yesterday.
Four armed ethnic groups have attacked security forces in the north of Myanmar, dealing a major blow to Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s top goal of reaching peace with ethnic minorities.
China, which has been alarmed by previous fighting along the porous border, has put its armed forces on high alert and called for all sides to exercise restraint.
The official China Daily newspaper said the injured people among the 3,000 Burmese citizens have been taken to a hospital in Yunnan Province, which shares a long border with Myanmar.
“The Chinese authority has responded swiftly and handled the situation appropriately,” Pan Xuesong (潘雪松), a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Myanmar, told the newspaper.
Stray shells have fallen in Wanding, an important border crossing, causing some minor damage, state TV said.
The Global Times newspaper said a Chinese government building in Wanding had been lightly damaged.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday said that at least one Chinese resident had also been injured.
The sudden escalation of fighting comes as the Burmese government grapples with a conflict in northwestern Rakhine State that has sent hundreds of Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh, posing a new challenge to Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who swept to power last year on promises of national reconciliation.
Previous fighting along the border pushed thousands of people into China. Beijing was infuriated last year when five Chinese were killed when the fighting spilled over into Chinese territory.
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