By Jaiden Coonan
YANGON
The Myanmar military's death toll in recent fighting has risen to 21, after battles in the country's northeastern Kokang region.
State run media The Mirror reported Thursday that 16 Tatmadaw (government) soldiers had been killed and 110 injured during a successful offensive against Kokang rebels on a strategic hilltop Wednesday.
The Tatmadaw boasted the capture of rebel artillery and the discovery of two rebel soldiers’ bodies, after utilizing airstrikes, tanks and heavy artillery.
Tun Myat Lin, spokesman for the Kokang-based Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), however, claimed that the rebels had not suffered any losses.
“We haven’t lost any posts in the fighting. We retreated from some small posts in the Kho Thang area, in accordance with our strategy, but there was no post lost,” he told the Democratic Voice of Burma.
The fighting continued as the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) announced talks would be held May 1-3 in the autonomous region of northern Wa State following recent overtures to bring all sides into the country's peace process.
The MNDAA has claimed they will be attending the events in May, even though a government official has said that their application would be rejected, after they were already barred from the March 31 meet.
Aung Myint, leader of the United Wa Solidarity Movement, told DVB Thursday that they would submit the issue of MNDAA's attendance to the government again.
“It’s not like a ban. They said they are not satisfied with the Kokang being invited – that they can’t accept the Kokang,” he said.
The Wa movement has also extended invitations to ethnic groups the Arakan Army and Ta’ang National Liberation Army.
Both are fighting alongside the MNDAA in Kokang.
