Combat between the military and ethnic rebels in north-eastern Myanmar has claimed more than 200 lives since the beginning of the year, the government said Saturday. State-run media claimed control of strategic hilltops in the Kokang region of Shan state, after more than 250 armed clashes with ethnic Kokang rebels of the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army, dpa reported. At least 126 soldiers were killed in the renewed fighting, it said. The government imposed a state of emergency and martial law in the Kokang region shortly after the fighting broke out.
