主题：缅甸局势简评 -- 种植园土

The draft text was not released publicly but negotiators said they had agreed on terms for joint monitoring of the cease-fire, management of the peace process and other issues that they had struggled over for more than a year.

A formal announcement was expected later this week. The Myanmar government and Western diplomats were hopeful that rebel leaders would sign the accord by late April.

More contentious topics, such as the possible disarmament of the ethnic militias and the government’s demand that they be folded into the national army, have not been discussed.

Meanwhile, however, conflict between the army and ethnic Kokang rebels continues to flare in Myanmar’s remote northeast. More than a month of fighting has left hundreds of soldiers and rebels dead and sent tens of thousands of refugees fleeing into neighboring China.

It has also drawn in other ethnic militias allied with the Kokang, prompting some rebel leaders to say they will not sign a cease-fire while fighting is going on.

The Kokang rebels, who speak Mandarin and have historic links to western China, are believed to number as many as 2,000 fighters equipped with Chinese-made weapons. Kokang representatives have been absent from the talks in Yangon.