Burma-Myanmar: Around 50 Myanmar troops killed by Kokang rebels in weekend clashes
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Clashes between ethnic Kokang rebels and Myanmar’s military near the country’s northeastern border with China left around 50 government troops dead over the weekend, a member of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army said Monday, though state media claimed the losses were far fewer.
Lt. Col. Ta Po Kyaw, secretary of the TNLA—which is fighting to reclaim the special region of Kokang in Shan state alongside the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA)—told RFA’s Myanmar Service his group had confronted army troops from four different divisions in Nanhkan and Hseni townships in recent days.
“We assume that a total of 50 soldiers from the government army were killed within these two to three days, although we can’t give an exact number,” he said.
Ta Po Kyaw did not provide a number for casualties suffered by ethnic rebels over the weekend.