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Motorists pass the China-Myanmar border gate in Muse last year. The town lies on the path of a proposed US$8.9 billion high-speed rail link that’s part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. Photo: AFP

Myanmar-China border town hit by bomb blast and shootings, killing 2

  • No group has so far claimed the attacks in Muse – Myanmar’s main gateway to China – which is home to several militia groups jockeying for control
  • One woman died and five people were wounded in a bomb attack on a police traffic post. A later attack killed another person and wounded four more
Myanmar
A bomb blast and a spate of shootings in a Myanmar-China border town have killed two people and wounded at least nine, rescuers and locals said.
No group has so far claimed the attacks in Muse – Myanmar’s main gateway to China – which is home to several militia groups jockeying for control over lucrative casinos and the drug trade.

One woman died and five people were wounded in a bomb attack on a police traffic post on Monday, said a local NGO worker who requested anonymity.

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Myanmar junta troops allegedly torch several villages during 3-day raid

Myanmar junta troops allegedly torch several villages during 3-day raid

Later that night, the police station was attacked “with small arms and heavy weapons”, the worker said, killing another person and leaving four wounded.

A member of a volunteer rescue group who helped transport people to hospital confirmed the two deaths but put the wounded tolls higher, saying six people, five of them militia members, had been injured in the bombing, and another five injured in the police station attack.

A separate, drive-by shooting on Tuesday morning injured two more suspected militia members, both the NGO worker and the rescuer said. Local media also reported the attacks. A police spokesman for the area could not be reached for comment.

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Muse is home to several militia groups controlled by Myanmar’s army – which has an agreement with China not to station troops along the border.

The military uses the militias as proxies in a long-running conflict with ethnic rebel groups which operate in the area, including the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA).

TNLA spokesman Major Tar Aik Kyaw said his group was not involved in the Muse attacks.

Violence has soared across Myanmar since the military’s coup last year, with the junta leading a bloody crackdown on dissent in addition to its long-running conflicts with the ethnic groups.
An armed militiaman secures a bridge in Muse, Myanmar’s main gateway to China, in 2019. Photo: AFP
Muse lies on the path of a proposed US$8.9 billion high-speed rail link from China’s landlocked Yunnan province to Myanmar’s west coast, part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.

But the region is awash with weapons and a centre for meth production as armed rebels and militias jostle for a share of any potential windfall.

In 2018, two Chinese nationals were among 19 people killed when ethnic rebels attacked security force posts and a casino near Muse.
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