August 27, 2009
BANGKOK (AFP) - More fighting is expected in northeastern Myanmar after tensions between the junta and ethnic rebel groups forced tens of thousands to flee across the Chinese border, activists said Thursday.
The exodus from Kokang in Shan State began on August 8 after Myanmar's junta deployed troops to the mainly ethnic Chinese region, said the US Campaign for Burma (USCB), which uses Myanmar's former name.
China's Chongqing Evening Post reported Wednesday that up to 10,000 refugees had fled from the area to the Chinese border town of Nansan in southwestern Yunnan province between August 8-12.
The exodus began when Myanmar sent dozens of military police to crack down on a gun repair factory suspected of being a front for drugs production, sparking fear among the locals, the report said.
Although the newspaper said the situation had since eased, with China assisting to repatriate the refugees, the Washington-based USCB warned of more confrontation after tensions "escalated to a dangerous level" in recent days.
The campaign group said a 20-year long ceasefire between Kokang rebels and Myanmar's government now seemed to be "effectively broken".
"More confrontation and military encounters are expected in the following days and thousands of villagers are fleeing to the China-Burma border to avoid the war, and subsequent human rights abuses," it added.
Myanmar, under military rule since 1962, has signed ceasefires with 17 ethnic armed groups.
Rights groups have accused the military regime of committing crimes against humanity by targeting civilians during its offensive against ethnic rebels.
Tens of thousands of refugees live along Thailand's border with Myanmar, most of whom have fled army crackdowns in the east.
USCB said it now expected the junta to employ similar strategies to "wipe out ethnic resistance" in northern Myanmar, resulting in more refugees and also more sexual violence in the region.
A border official in Nansan, who asked not to be named, confirmed that "many" Myanmar nationals had arrived in China in recent weeks, but could not give a precise figure.
He said local and provincial authorities had set up an office to deal with the influx of refugees, without elaborating.
