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Myanmar residents who had fled into China because of clashes near the border have begun to return to their homes as the situation improves, an official with the public security department of Yunnan provincial government said yesterday.

About 37,000 border inhabitants comprising both Burmese and Chinese had fled into China after armed conflicts broke out in the Kokang area of Shan state in northeastern Myanmar last week, said Meng Sutie, director of the Yunnan provincial public security department, at a press conference in Kunming yesterday.

The conflict arose from confrontation between Myanmar government forces and an ethnic army in the Kokang area of Shan state.

Kokang shares a border with Yunnan and has a population of about 150,000.

One person was killed and two were injured after three bombs were fired from across China's border with Myanmar, Meng said.

In Myanmar, one person died and 13 were injured as they tried to escape the clashes. All of them are Chinese.

The Myanmar government said yesterday the situation in Kokang region or Shan State Special Region-1 has "returned to normalcy". It confirmed in an announcement that some border inhabitants, who fled the fighting into the neighboring country (China), have started to return to their homes.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed concern to the Myanmar government, Meng said. China hopes that Myanmar will stabilize the border area, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said last week.

"Myanmar has apologized for Chinese casualties," Meng said. "Myanmar also thanked the Chinese government for its treatment of Myanmar residents." Myanmar had promised to protect the safety and legal rights of Chinese citizens in Myanmar.

The Yunnan provincial government set up seven areas in Zhenkang and Genma counties, where about 13,000 people were staying in shelters such as tents.

"About 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) has been spent on water, food, daily necessities and medical care. They are satisfied with the conditions. We'll help them go back home as soon as possible," Meng said.

Some of those fleeing were found to have had dengue; they have received treatment and the chances of them being contagious are slim, Meng said.

More than 1,000 doctors have been brought in, Li Hui, an official with the Yunnan province's foreign affairs office, said on Saturday.

After fighting broke out in Myanmar, China deployed forces along the border.

（英语点津 Helen 编辑）

Brendan joined The China Daily in 2007 as a language polisher in the Language Tips Department, where he writes a regular column for Chinese English Language learners, reads audio news for listeners and anchors the weekly video news in addition to assisting with on location stories. Elsewhere he writes Op'Ed pieces with a China focus that feature in the Daily's Website opinion section.

He received his B.A. and Post Grad Dip from Curtin University in 1997 and his Masters in Community Development and Management from Charles Darwin University in 2003. He has taught in Japan, England, Australia and most recently China. His articles have featured in the Bangkok Post, The Taipei Times, The Asia News Network and in-flight magazines.