BANGKOK
\nMyanmar military airstrikes hit a hospital in a city controlled by an ethnic minority armed group close to the China border killing 10 people, local media reported on Friday.
\nMilitary planes carried out at least two air strikes on Laukkai city, normally home to some 25,000 people, late on Thursday night, a resident said, requesting anonymity for security reasons.
\nLocal media quoted one resident as saying 10 civilians were killed in the strike.
\nMyanmar\u2019s northern Shan state has been rocked by fighting since late June when an alliance of ethnic minority armed groups renewed an offensive against the military along a major trade highway to China.
\nThe Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) group have held Laukkai since January after more than 2,000 junta troops surrendered there in one of the military\u2019s biggest defeats in decades.
\nMNDAA spokesman Li Jiawen said a military airstrike had hit a hospital in Laukkai, but he had no information yet on casualties.
\nThe junta has been approached for comment.
\nThe junta has bombed Laukkai several times in recent weeks after the MNDAA renewed its offensive in northern Shan state, shredding a Beijing-brokered ceasefire.
\nPictures taken on Thursday and shared with AFP by the Laukkai resident showed deserted streets.
\nIn recent days MNDAA fighters have entered the town of Lashio, also in northern Shan state and home to the military\u2019s northeastern command.
\nFighting was ongoing in Lashio on Friday, a military source said, requesting anonymity to talk to the media.
\nLocal media, citing a local resident, reported that MNDAA fighters had entered a military hospital in Lashio and killed an unspecified number of patients and medical staff.
\nAFP was unable to reach people on the ground in Lashio or confirm the report.
\nDozens of civilians have been killed or wounded in the recent fighting in Shan state according to the junta and local rescue groups.
\nNeither the junta nor the ethnic alliance have released figures on their own casualties.
\nMyanmar\u2019s borderlands are home to myriad ethnic armed groups who have battled the military since independence from Britain in 1948 for autonomy and control of lucrative resources.
\nSome have given shelter and training to newer \u201cPeople\u2019s Defense Forces\u201d (PDFs) that have sprung up to battle the military after the coup in 2021.
\nChina is a major ally and arms supplier to the junta, but analysts say it also maintains ties with armed ethnic groups in Myanmar that hold territory near its border.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BANGKOK Myanmar military airstrikes hit a hospital in a city controlled by an ethnic minority armed group close to the China border killing 10 people, local media reported on Friday. Military planes carried out at least two air strikes on Laukkai city, normally home to some 25,000 people, late on Thursday night, a resident said, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":422522,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-422507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n