Myanmar rebel commander denies Chinese mercenaries fighting with his forces

The head of ethnic rebel forces in a restive region of northern Myanmar has denied claims by the country’s military that Chinese mercenaries are supporting them, a state-run newspaper has reported.

Peng Jiasheng, an ethnic Chinese rebel commander in the Kokang region in Shan state, told the Global Times it was an “iron bottom line” not to accept Chinese citizens in his army.

Peng, 85, a veteran of a former China-backed guerilla force that battled the Myanmese government until the group fell apart in 1989, said Kokang had banned Chinese citizens from entering the region bordering China to join his Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army.

“There would be no benefit, but harm to us,” Peng said. “Most importantly, we will face enormous pressure once Chinese law enforcement agencies uncover any Chinese nationals taking part in the war here.”

Peng’s comments came after Myanmar’s chief of military affairs security said on Sunday that Kokang rebels were receiving help from mercenaries from China and guerilla armies from the minority areas of Kachin, Mong La, Wa, Palaung and northern Shan.

Violence flared again between government troops and Kokang rebels early this month, leading many people to flee over the border into Yunnan province. There is confusion about the exact number of refugees, but Xinhua previously reported that the number in Lincang alone was as high as 30,000.