Beijing urges end to conflict in Myanmar

China strongly objected on Thursday to the landing of a stray artillery shell from across the border that left five people injured in Yunnan province, calling for an immediate end to the ongoing conflict in northern Myanmar.

Five people in Zhenkang county of the Southwest China province, which borders Myanmar, were reportedly injured on Wednesday by the stray shell fired from across the border. They were being treated in hospital.

Online video footage showed that shops were damaged by the shelling in the region.

China is closely following the conflict in northern Myanmar and has lodged serious demarches with the relevant side over the incident, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a daily news conference.

China once again demands that all parties in the conflict take concrete actions and avoid another untoward incident that endangers the peace along the China-Myanmar border and the life and property of Chinese citizens. The country will take necessary measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens and their property, he added.

Last week, China's embassy in Myanmar reminded all Chinese nationals in Laukkaing in Northern Myanmar to evacuate immediately due to the severe and complex situation in the Kokang self-administered zone and urged Chinese citizens to avoid travel to the region.

The Foreign Ministry has repeatedly called on relevant parties in Myanmar to exercise maximum restraint while dealing with the situation in northern Myanmar.

Zhenkang is located in Southwestern China, bordering the Kokang self-administered zone. Running adjacent to the "Golden Triangle" region of Southeast Asia, the borderline stretches 96.358 kilometers without natural barriers.

This is not the first time that such incidents have taken place. In 2015, two shells from Myanmar landed in Zhenkang, injuring one Chinese and four Myanmar nationals.