Thousands feared displaced in new Myanmar clashes: UN

YANGON, Myanmar: Thousands of people are feared to have been displaced by four days of fighting in northern Myanmar, including several hundred who reportedly fled to China, the United Nations said on Monday.

On Friday, three powerful ethnic armed organisations attacked junta troops across a swathe of northern Shan state, home to a planned billion-dollar rail link, part of Beijing´s Belt and Road infrastructure project.

The Ta´ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) have since said they have seized several military posts and key roads.

The three groups -- which analysts say can call on at least 15,000 fighters between them -- have fought regularly with the military over autonomy and control of resources. “As of 30 October, over 6,200 individuals have reportedly been newly displaced” by the fighting, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement.