Several government soldiers have been killed in fighting with the Kokang armed forces over two days of military engagements.
The office of the military Commander-in-Chief on March 12 announced that fighting broke out in Laukkai area between the government forces and a Kokang armed group that day after the Kokang group attacked a government convoy travelling from Lashio to Laukkai in northern Shan State.
Three government soldiers were killed and five others injured in the fighting, said the office.
At about 1 pm on March 12, Kokang group attacked the convoy of supplies from Lashio to Laukkai, so the government forces fired heavy weapons at the Kokang forces.
In the evening, a Kokang armed group ambushed a government column near the hills to the west of Mawhtaik, so the government forces fought back, according to the office of the Commander-in-Chief.
In the afternoon of March 12, government forces seized weapons and more than 200,000 methamphetamine tablets worth more than K500 million [US$500,000] near Parsinkyaw Village.
The day before, four government soldiers were killed and five others injured in clashes, according to the office.