Ongoing clashes in Myanmar between ethnic Kokang rebels and government forces near the Chinese border have so far left over 160 dead. In an email interview, Jasmin Lorch, a research fellow at the German Institute of Global and Area Studies, discussed ethnic rebels in Myanmar. WPR: What has kept the government from reaching cease-fires with the group involved in the recent fighting, and what impact might the fighting have on cease-fires elsewhere? Jasmin Lorch: The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) of the Kokang had a cease-fire with the military government that preceded the current quasi-civilian government of President Thein […]