 An alliance of Myanmar's ethnic minority armed groups says it's agreed a four-day ceasefire with government forces in northern Shan state, which borders China, Laos and Thailand. A spokesman for one of three militias that launched a joint offensive against the military last October said the truce did not cover the neighbouring region of Mandalay. The proposed truce follows weeks of clashes in which the militia has made territorial gains along a main route to China.