Tens of thousands flee Myanmar conflict

LASHIO, Myanmar: Nearly 90,000 civilians in northeastern Myanmar are believed to have fled clashes between troops and ethnic rebels, an official said Wednesday, as sporadic violence hampered efforts to evacuate those still trapped.
Rebels fear the national army is planning a major assault following the imposition of a state of emergency in the Kokang region of Shan state on Tuesday.
Whole towns and villages lie empty in the rugged, remote area as tens of thousands of residents have fled their homes — some on foot.
At least 30,000 people, mainly the ethnic Chinese Kokang, have crossed the border into China’s Yunnan province, sparking alarm in Beijing.
Clashes continued on Wednesday as more civilians arrived in the Shan town of Lashio, fearing they could be caught up in the sudden upsurge of violence.
In one of at least two separate attacks on civilians on Tuesday, around 100 people came under fire as they travelled in Myanmar Red Cross trucks in a desperate dash from their homes.
“It was a miracle we weren’t hit,” Maung Ying told AFP in Lashio after the attack on aid vehicles, which were marked with Red Cross flags but had no military protection.
“They were shooting from the mountains on both sides of the road. I thought I was going to die, bullets were passing just over our heads,” he said, adding the ordeal lasted for an hour.
The convoy had passed through Laukkai, the epicentre of fierce fighting since rebels launched attacks last week.
Tun Tun Oo, head of the Lashio Red Cross, which is separate from the better known International Committee of the Red Cross, said it was now too dangerous to go into Laukkai.
“We just have to wait for people to come to us. If the army could give us protection under military rule, then we would go back,” he told AFP.
Both the army and rebels have blamed each other for the attack.
The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar, Renata Dessallien, said she was “saddened” by the aid convoy attack, adding that it was in breach of humanitarian law.
“I appeal to all parties to the conflict to ensure that civilians are protected, and to allow civilians who remain in the conflict zone safe passage out of the Kokang area,” she said in a statement.