Fresh fighting has erupted between Burma forces and an armed ethnic group in the remote northeast, forcing tens of thousands to flee across the border into China, activists and state media said today.
China today called on Burma, also known as Myanmar, to maintain stability in the border region, even as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimated that 30,000 civilians had fled the conflict.
"We also urge Myanmar to protect the security and legal rights of Chinese citizens in Myanmar," said the statement by a spokeswoman.
The trouble may raise tension between China and Burma whose military junta looks to Beijing as one of its few diplomatic backers and a crucial source of investment.
Thousands have fled this month from Kokang in Burma's Shan State after clashes there, which, according to a US-based rights group, followed the deployment of troops in the area, home to a large number of ethnic Chinese.
A news website run by Yunnan, the Chinese province bordering Burma, said fighting flared again on yesterday afternoon, "leading residents from the Myanmar side to panic and flood in large numbers into our territory."
The Yunnan news website said that by this morning a total of about 10,000 people had fled into China. They were kept seven collection points where they received food and medical care, the report said.
Kokang, where the trouble erupted, is home to many ethnic Chinese and Chinese nationals, many of whom run businesses and trade across the border.
Reuters