Myanmar cross-border bombing kills four, draws protest from China
| Publisher | Radio Free Asia |
| Publication Date | 14 March 2015 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Asia, Myanmar cross-border bombing kills four, draws protest from China, 14 March 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/552e197c3a.html [accessed 1 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
2015-03-14
Myanmar soldiers patrol in Laukkai, the main city in the Kokang region of northern Myanmar Shan state, on February 16, 2015. AFP
China flew fighter jets near its border with Myanmar and lodged diplomatic protests after bombs dropped by the Southeast Asian country's warplanes killed four farmers on China's side of the frontier.
The attack on a sugarcane field in the border city of Lincang in Yunnan province drew a sharp warning from a senior Chinese military leader that further incidents would be met by "firm and decisive action" by China, Beijing's state-run Xinhua news agency.
Fan Changlong, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission told Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Defense Services that Myanmar must seriously investigate the incident, severely punish the perpetrators, and apologize to and compensate the families of the victims, the agency said.
Friday's bombing, the second case this week of spillover from the Myanmar military's fight with ethnic rebels, also injured nine people and prompted China's Air Force to launch fighter jet sorties along the China-Myanmar border areas to "track, monitor, warn and chase away" Myanmar warplanes, Xinhua quoted Fan as saying.
A diplomatic protest was also lodged by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin to Myanmar ambassador Thit Linn Ohn in Beijing on Friday, while on Saturday, Chinese ambassador to Myanmar Yang Houlan made "urgent and solemn representations" to Myanmar's government and military, the agency said.
Earlier this week, Beijing had called on the Myanmar government to investigate an incident in which four bombs exploded in villages on China's side of the border on March 8, casing damage to some houses.
Fighting began on Feb. 9 in Laukkai between Myanmar government troops and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) rebel forces.
The MNDAA under ethnic Chinese commander Peng Jiasheng is trying to retake the Kokang self-administered zone, which it had controlled until 2009, forcing an estimated 100,000 refugees away from the conflict zone and across the border into China.
Reported by RFA's Mandarin and English Services, with wire reports.
Link to original story on RFA website
