China's army is on high alert after three armed groups simultaneously attacked security posts in the border towns of Muse and Kutkai in the Shan state of Burma (also known as Myanmar); eight people were killed and around 27 injured. The attacks come just days before a visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry to Myanmar for talks with his Burmese counterpart, U Thein. China has put its army on high alert and cautioned its citizens living in Myanmar to stay safe amid fierce clashes raging in the border towns of Muse and Kutkai in Myanmar's northeastern Shan state. Thousands of people have been displaced by years of fighting between the military and ethnic armed groups in the Shan province, which hosts several large groups near the borders of China and Thailand. As we have noted, there is increasing alarm over the rising religious tensions in Burma with violent outbreaks ratcheting up further since 2012.
China's army is on high alert after three armed groups simultaneously attacked security posts in the border towns of Muse and Kutkai in the Shan state of Burma (also known as Myanmar); eight people were killed and around 27 injured. The attacks come just days before a visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry to Myanmar for talks with his Burmese counterpart, U Thein. Thousands of people have been displaced by years of fighting between the military and ethnic armed groups in the Shan province, which hosts several large groups near the borders of China and Thailand. As we have noted, there is increasing alarm over the rising religious tensions in Burma with violent outbreaks ratcheting up further since 2012.