80 Myanmar nationals flee to China amid military conflicts in Shan

Beijing [China], Nov. 21 (ANI): Around 80 nationals have fled to China as armed conflicts erupted in northern Myanmar's Shan state. Some 80 inhabitants appeared in Wanding, a small town in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, on Sunday morning and were received by the Chinese Government, which is gearing to deal with the increasing number of inhabitants, reports the Global Times. The wounded Myanmar residents were sent to Chinese hospitals. Conflicts between troops of the Myanmar Government and armed ethnic groups broke out on Sunday morning in several areas, including Mongkoe and Muse, causing military and civilian casualties. A press release on Sunday afternoon from Myanmar State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's Office said that over 600-strong joint groups included the Kachin Independence Army, Ta-ang National Liberation Army and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). A statement from the four ethnic armed groups said that yesterday's offensive was "unavoidable" given the Tatmadaw's (Myanmar National Army) repeated aggression in ethnic areas over recent months and asked the civilians to avoid travel in the area in order to minimise the risk of getting caught up in the conflict. Stray bullets also fell in China, which shares a border of over 2,000 kilometers with Myanmar. In 2015, some 60,000 Myanmar residents fled across the border following Northern Myanmar's Kokang conflicts and more than 10,000 were temporarily resettled in the city of Lincang, Yunnan Province. (ANI)