Thousands Flee Fighting in Myanmar's Shan State
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Thousands of civilians have fled their homes in northeastern Myanmar after a recent upswing in fighting between ethnic minority rebels and the army, combatants and witnesses said Sunday.
The recent flare up in Myanmar's Shan State comes as an outgoing military-backed government prepares to hand over power to a civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.
Shan, a large and hilly province on Myanmar's eastern border, has hosted multiple insurgencies over the decades by ethnic minorities fighting for greater autonomy or independence.
The latest fighting has pitted the military against the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA).
The TNLA are one of a handful of rebel groups who have yet to sign up to a broad ceasefire agreement that the military has been pushing, according to AFP.
Suu Kyi has said bringing peace to Myanmar's border areas, where a variety of ethnic minority rebels have long fought insurgencies against central government rule, will be a priority of her new administration.