Beijing calls for halt to Myanmar fighting after stray artillery fire injured five in Chinese border town

China’s foreign ministry said it ‘strongly deplored’ the incident in which the village of Nansan was hit during fighting between the junta and rebel forces

Residents said they had seen villagers being taken away in an ambulance and the roof of a mobile phone shop and been blown in after one explosion

Reading Time:2 minutes

Nansan lies less than 3km from China’s border with Myanmar. Photo: Baidu

Published: 9:23pm, 4 Jan 2024Updated: 9:35pm, 4 Jan 2024

China has renewed its call for a ceasefire in northern Myanmar after five people were injured after stray artillery fire hit a town on the Chinese side of the border during fighting between the military junta and rebel forces.

Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Thursday Beijing “strongly deplored” the incident, adding that China would do what was necessary to protect the lives and property of its citizens.

A man tends to a person lying on the ground after stray shellfire hit Nansan on the Myanmar border. Photo: Reuters

“We have already lodged a serious protest with the relevant parties and we once again asked all parties in the conflict to stop fighting immediately and take concrete actions to avoid similar appalling incidents from disrupting the tranquillity of the Chinese-Myanmar border,” Wang said.

The incident happened on Wednesday when shells fired from northern Myanmar hit Nansan, a town in Yunnan province, which lies around 2.5km (1.6 miles) from the border. The five people injured in the incident are now being treated in hospital.

One resident of the village said his office windows had been shattered by an explosion, while a nearby mobile phone shop had been badly damaged.

“I ran out [of the office] after I heard the explosion,” said the man, who requested anonymity. “I clearly saw a crater in front of a mobile phone shop and the explosion slightly injured a delivery man and a local resident. Later I saw three [other] people being taken into an ambulance.”