16 Myanmar troops killed near China border

Sixteen Myanmar soldiers died in a major offensive to flush rebels from a strategic hill-top in the northeastern region bordering China, state media said yesterday, as fighting with ethnic insurgents nears its tenth week.

Scores of soldiers and ethnic Kokang rebels have died since conflict erupted in the remote region of Shan state on February 9, while tens of thousands of people have fled across the frontier into China.

Myanmar air strikes have since drifted into Chinese territory, killing several civilians and prompting a rebuke from Beijing which scrambled its fighter jets.

The conflict has also overshadowed a wider bid to secure a nationwide ceasefire with a host of other rebel groups -- excluding the Kokang -- as the country edges towards breakthrough elections after decades of junta rule.