The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Naypyidaw / AFP
Fresh fighting between ethnic minority rebels and Myanmar’s military is overshadowing an upcoming peace conference led by Aung San Suu Kyi’s new civilian government, people involved in the talks said on Tuesday. The five-day gathering, which officially opens on Wednesday, is Suu Kyi’s first big drive to end multiple insurgencies that have raged in Myanmar’s borderlands since independence in 1948. Organisers have been pushing for a unilateral ceasefire before the UN-backed talks. But those hopes have been shattered by renewed outbreaks of fighting, negotiators from both the rebels and the government said. Several rebel groups have failed to down their weapons. Troops also remain locked in combat with ethnic fighters hours before UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is due to give a press conference later Tuesday.