Myanmar army attack kills 23 rebel force cadets

A Myanmese army shell killed 23 cadets and wounded 15 of an ethnic insurgent group in the deadliest attack since a ceasefire agreement broke down in 2011, the group's deputy commander said yesterday.

The shell hit a cadet training centre on the outskirts of Laisa, the Kachin Independence Army capital on the border with China in Kachin state, on Wednesday.

General Gun Maw, the KIA's second-in-command, said the attack brought the number of KIA soldiers killed since 2011 to more than 300.

Myanmar's military has no spokesperson and government spokesman Ye Htut did not respond to requests for comment.

A senior military official said the attack came after several days of mounting tension between the military and the KIA, which he said had shelled government soldiers building a road near Laisa.

"Two of the wounded soldiers are still in critical condition," he said.