Myanmar junta wants 'stability' before heeding pleas on violence

YANGON: Myanmar's junta said on Tuesday it will heed regional pleas to stop violence only when the coup-hit country "returns to stability," as fresh fighting erupted with a major ethnic rebel group along its eastern border.

The nation has been in turmoil since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a February 1 coup, triggering an uprising that has seen security forces mount deadly crackdowns against protesters.