Beijing calls for halt to Myanmar fighting after stray artillery fire injured five in Chinese border town
China has renewed its call for a ceasefire in northern Myanmar after five people were injured after stray artillery fire hit a town on the Chinese side of the border during fighting between the military junta and rebel forces.
Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Thursday Beijing "strongly deplored" the incident, adding that China would do what was necessary to protect the lives and property of its citizens.
A man tends to a person lying on the ground after stray shellfire hit Nansan on the Myanmar border. Photo: Reuters alt=A man tends to a person lying on the ground after stray shellfire hit Nansan on the Myanmar border. Photo: Reuters>
"We have already lodged a serious protest with the relevant parties and we once again asked all parties in the conflict to stop fighting immediately and take concrete actions to avoid similar appalling incidents from disrupting the tranquillity of the Chinese-Myanmar border," Wang said.
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The incident happened on Wednesday when shells fired from northern Myanmar hit Nansan, a town in Yunnan province, which lies around 2.5km (1.6 miles) from the border. The five people injured in the incident are now being treated in hospital.
One resident of the village said his office windows had been shattered by an explosion, while a nearby mobile phone shop had been badly damaged.
"I ran out [of the office] after I heard the explosion," said the man, who requested anonymity. "I clearly saw a crater in front of a mobile phone shop and the explosion slightly injured a delivery man and a local resident. Later I saw three [other] people being taken into an ambulance."
He added that the ceiling of the mobile phone shop had caved in and its walls were riddled with holes.
A shop owner who lives nearby said: "We were terrified [by the explosion] and worried about our safety. We just want to live safely and we should not be victims of the conflicts across the border."
The military junta is facing the most serious challenge to its rule since it seized power in a coup in 2021, with insurgencies flaring up in different parts of the country.
The fighting in northern Myanmar started in late October, when an alliance of three rebel armies representing different ethnic groups launched an offensive against the government in Shan state.
A mobile phone shop was among the damaged buildings in the border town. Photo: Weibo/ 直击新鲜事 alt=A mobile phone shop was among the damaged buildings in the border town. Photo: Weibo/ 直击新鲜事>
China has previously urged all parties to stop fighting and has been working with both sides to broker a ceasefire.
Nansan has been caught in the crossfire during previous bouts of fighting in northern Myanmar, including another incident that injured five people in May 2015.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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