YANGON: A Myanmar ethnic minority armed group was battling junta troops in a ruby and gem-mining hub on Friday, the group and residents told AFP, with reports of civilian casualties in shelling and air strikes.
The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) launched attacks on junta troops earlier this week in Mandalay region and neighboring Shan state, shattering a ceasefire brokered by China in January.
Its fighters were inside Mogok, a town surrounded by hills rich with rubies, sapphires, spinel, aquamarine and other semi-precious stones, General Tar Bhone Kyaw told AFP, without giving details.
AFP was unable to reach a junta spokesman for comment.
Mogok residents told AFP the town had been hit by artillery shelling and air strikes by military planes since fighting in the area started on Tuesday.
“As far as I know, four people including two women were killed yesterday because of artillery shelling,” one 57-year-old Mogok resident, who did not want to give his name, told AFP.
He said he and his family were sheltering elsewhere after the roof of their home had been damaged in an air strike.
“We have no experience like this. It’s the first ever serious fighting in Mogok town.”
Myanmar produces much of the world’s rubies, and top quality stones from Mogok — known as “pigeon’s blood” for their deep red color — can fetch more per carat than diamonds.
The industry is notoriously opaque, with high-value rubies often smuggled over the border into Thailand or China to be sold directly to private buyers or made into jewelry.
For decades Myanmar’s junta and its opponents have taxed local miners for income.
Fighting was ongoing in Kyaukme town in neighboring Shan state, a local rescue worker told AFP on Friday.
At least 10 civilians had been killed and more than 20 wounded there since clashes broke out on Tuesday, he said.
The fighting has breached the China-brokered ceasefire that earlier this year ended weeks of fighting in Shan state between the military and the TNLA and two other allied ethnic armed groups.
In a surprise October offensive the alliance seized swathes of territory and several lucrative trade crossings with China, dealing the junta its biggest blow since it seized power.
Myanmar ethnic fighters battle junta in ruby mining hub
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Myanmar ethnic fighters battle junta in ruby mining hub
South Korea scrambles jets after Russian, Chinese planes approach
- The Russian and Chinese aircraft entered the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone around 10 a.m. local time
- Since 2019, China and Russia have regularly flown military aircraft into South Korea’s air defense zone without prior notice
SEOUL: South Korea said it had sent up fighter jets on Tuesday after seven Russian and two Chinese military aircraft entered its air defense zone.
The Russian and Chinese aircraft entered the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) around 10 a.m. local time (0100 GMT), Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
None of the planes violated South Korean airspace, they said.
Seoul said it deployed “fighter jets to take tactical measures in preparation for any contingencies” in response.
The planes flew in and out of the zone for an hour before leaving, the military said, according to Yonhap.
The planes were spotted before they entered the air defense identification zone, defined as a broader area in which countries police aircraft for security reasons but which does not constitute their airspace.
China’s defense ministry later said it had organized drills with Russia’s military according to “annual cooperation plans.”
The drills took place Tuesday above the East China Sea and western Pacific Ocean, the ministry said, calling the exercises their “10th joint strategic air patrol.”
Since 2019, China and Russia have regularly flown military aircraft into South Korea’s air defense zone without prior notice, citing joint exercises.
In November last year, Seoul scrambled jets as five Chinese and six Russian military planes flew through its air defense zone.
Similar incidents occurred in June and December 2023, and in May and November 2022.
China and Russia have expanded military and defense ties since Moscow ordered troops into Ukraine nearly four years ago.
Both are also traditional allies of North Korea, Seoul’s arch-foe.
