Myanmar issued a rebuke to the United States embassy in Yangon on Saturday after the US raised concerns over continued fighting between the army and ethnic rebels in the northern state of Kachin.
The Myanmar foreign ministry accused the US statement, issued on Thursday, of only presenting one side of the bloody conflict, which has continued despite a government announcement of a unilateral ceasefire earlier this month.
Myanmar said the US release “could cause misunderstanding in the international community”, in a response printed in the state-run English language newspaper New Light of Myanmar.
It said the statement suggested “only the Myanmar Government and the Tatmadaw (army) launched the offensive” and “did not mention anything about terrorist actions and atrocities committed” by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in Kachin state since June 2011, when a 17-year ceasefire between the government and the KIA broke down. The conflict has resulted in civilian casualties, although the exact number killed is unclear.
The US on Thursday cited media and aid agency reports that the Myanmar military had continued its offensive close to the KIA headquarters on the border with China.
