Violent clashes are continuing between the Burmese army, the Tatmadaw, and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), a rebel group made up of ethnic Kokang.
Rebel spokesperson Tun Myat Lin told the Voice of America on Tuesday that the Tatmadaw had engaged in a six-hour offensive against the Kokang.
"It started at 6:30 this morning," he said. "They used both heavy artillery and ground forces. They retreated and again started hitting with artillery, also using ground forces. This pattern continued till 11 a.m. Our side did not suffer any casualties."
The leader of the MNDAA meanwhile denied reports that Chinese mercinaries were helping the rebels.
“The Kokang side has strictly forbidden Chinese citizens from entering Kokang to join the MNDAA,” Peng Jiasheng said to the Global Times in a telephone interview published on Wednesday. “We will not accept Chinese citizens participating in armed actions as this is only harmful to us,” he added.