Myanmar anti-coup insurgents seize police post, kill security forces

Fighters opposed toMyanmar's military juntaseized apolicestation in the eastern town of Mobye on Sunday and claimed to havekilled at least 13 members of thesecurityforcesand captured four, local media said.

Videos shared on social media showed what appeared to be the dead bodies ofsecurityforcesin the latest attack of a general upsurge of conflict in parts ofMyanmarsince the Feb. 1coupthat overthrew elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

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A gun battle also erupted near the Chinese border early on Sunday, while on Saturday an armed ethnic group opposed to thecouplaunched an attack on a jade mining town on the other side ofMyanmar, near India.

Video from Mobye showed bodies in the uniforms of thesecurityforces, while other pictures showed four men who were said to bepolicewith their hands behind their backs and blindfolded with surgical masks.

Apolicevehicle was shown in flames as dozens of fighters milled at the scene.

Reuters was unable to reach a junta spokesman or to independently confirm the video or the accounts of the fighting.

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The Irrawaddy news outlet quoted a fighter from the local People's Defence Force as saying thepolicestation had been set on fire and that two civilians had been wounded in the fighting. Reports from other media said up to 15 members of thesecurityforceshad beenkilled.

Mobye is around 100 km (60 miles) east of the capital Naypyidaw but lies near territory held by some of the ethnic armed groups that have fought for greater autonomy for decades.

An alliance of four ethnic groups opposing thecoupbattled early on Sunday withsecurityforcesin Muse, one of the main border crossings to China,Myanmarmedia said.

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Since the army took power, local People's DefenceForceshave also sprung up to oppose the junta - often armed with shotguns and homemade weapons. The video from Mobye showed at least one fighter firing an assault rifle.

While the junta is struggling with renewed conflict on several fronts, it also faces daily protests and strikes that have paralysed hospitals, schools and much private business.

Teachers Suspended

More than 125,000 school teachers - nearly a third of the total - have been suspended for joining a civil disobedience movement to oppose thecoup, an official of theMyanmarTeachers' Federation said.

At least 815 people have beenkilled bysecurityforcessince thecoup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners activist group.

The junta disputes that figure. Its leader, Min Aung Hlaing, said in comments broadcast on Saturday that 300 people had beenkilled in addition to 47police.

Protesters also demand the release of nearly 4,300 people who have been arrested since thecoup, including Suu Kyi, 75.

Min Aung Hlaing said Suu Kyi was healthy and would soon appear in court. Her next hearing is on Monday on some of the many charges brought against her, which range from illegal possession of walkie-talkie radios to breaching a state secrets law.

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The armyseized power claiming fraud in a general election won by Suu Kyi's party in November. Its accusations had been dismissed by the former electoral commission, dozens of whose officials are now locked up.

In further comments from an interview released by Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television on Sunday, Min Aung Hlaing sought to reassure Chinese businesses after some factories were set ablaze recently in the commercial capital Yangon.

"Our citizens are not beinganti-China but it's the politics that cause the hatred," he said.

Some opponents of thecouphave accused China of supporting the junta, which has been condemned by Western countries that have introduced limited sanctions. China has been milder in its approach and has said it seeks stability in its neighbour.