Rebels breach Myanmar ceasefire in army attack: military

Myanmar's army accused rebels on Friday of attacking and killing "some" of its soldiers, the first skirmish acknowledged by the military in the wake of it unprecedented ceasefire with ethnic armed groups.

The military announced last week it would suspend "all military movements" in the troubled northern and eastern regions for four months, a move observers say is unprecedented.

Halting a simmering decades-long civil war could be a way to coax ethnic armed groups into a fractious peace process, which has been marred by continuous fighting in restive border areas.

But the Tatmadaw, the military's Myanmar name, said their soldiers stationed in Shan state were attacked on Thursday by troops from the Shan State Army (SSA) -- also known as the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS).

"Some Tatmadaw men were killed and some injured in the attack were sent to the military hospital... for treatment," said a statement Friday from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief.

"The Tatmadaw will strongly stand by its...ceasefire declaration and respond in line with the law to the attacks of the SSA."