YANGON, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar authorities said Monday that market trading has returned to normal in Laukkai, capital of the Kokang ethnic region, more than a week after armed clashes ended there.

    Up to 13,255 local inhabitants had come back to Laukkai from China's Yunnan province as of Sunday, the official newspaper New Light of Myanmar said. "The town has returned to normal and shops, stores and markets have been reopened," it said.

    "Chickens and fish are sold at mobile shops in the town," it added.

    According to official estimation, a total of 37,000 Kokang inhabitants fled days of fighting between government forces and a local ethnic army late last month to neighboring Yunnan province, southwest of China.

    In Yunnan, the refugees were provided with humanitarian care by the Yunnan provincial government.

    The runaway inhabitants started to return home from Aug. 31 through Yanlonkyaing and Chinshwehaw border gates, a day after the Myanmar government said peace has been restored in the region.

    The local administration is now controlled by the newly-formed "Kokang Region Provisional Leading Committee" in Laukkai, led by the Myanmar government.

    The Kokang region is also known as the Shan State Special Region-1 (North) in northeast Myanmar.

    The local ethnic army reached a ceasefire with the Myanmar government on March 31, 1989, and was allowed to retain arms and enjoy conditional self-administration.

    Kokang, bordering China's Zhen Kung, Geng Ma, Meng Ding and Long Ling areas, has a population of about 150,000.