Bombs Damage TV Station, Gambling Businesses in Kokang

At least 10 bombs exploded in the Laogai area, the Kokang capital in northern Shan State, on Saturday, an area now controlled by Burmese government troops, according to border sources.

Aung Kyaw Zaw, a former Communist rebel who observes Sino-Burma affairs from Yunnan Province in China, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that the bombs damaged a TV station, gambling casinos and other businesses.

A Burmese soldier walks past a hotel in Laogai, capital of Kokang region, in September. (Photo: Reuters)

The explosions occurred during the night. No reports of dead or injured were available.

Government authorities in Laogai said a relative of Peng Jiasheng, the former Kokang leader ousted by the junta, was believed to be responsible for the explosions.

However, Aung Kyaw Zaw said that the bombs might have been the work of a disgruntled faction of Kokang troops led by Bai Souqian and resulted from a power-sharing struggle within the group. The junta elevated Bai Souqian to the leadership position of Kokang troops following Peng Jiasheng’s ouster from power in September.

The bombings were the first in the Laogai region after the recent clashes between government troops and Kokang militia led by Peng Jiasheng, which forced thousands of refugees into China. 

After his ouster, Peng Jiasheng told The Irrawaddy in an interview in September that the war between the government and his private militia will be long, and the conflict will be impossible to end soon. Sino-Burma border sources said Peng Jiasheng’s militia, led by his son, has been active in the region. The government accused Peng Jiasheng of operating an illegal drug network.

On the day the bombs went off, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was urging Burmese Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein to establish peace and stability along the Sino-Burmese border. They met at the 15th Asean Summit in Hua Hin, Thailand.

Wen told Thein Sein that Beijing “hopes that the Burmese regime will achieve stability, national reconciliation and development” in Burma, according to the China Ministry of Foreign Affairs Web site.

China pledged to provide more aid to Burma in order to strengthen its economy and trade, infrastructure, utilities, energy and other areas.

It was the highest level meeting between Chinese and Burmese officials since 37,000 Kokang Chinese refugees in Burma fled to China in September. At least two Chinese citizens were reportedly killed during the government offensive, and there was widespread looting by government troops of property owned by Chinese citizens.