Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi concluded a landmark peace summit with ethnic rebels on Saturday, calling it the first step in what promises to be a tough road to peace in a country riven by civil wars since its birth. The conference in the capital Naypyidaw is Suu Kyi's first big drive to end ethnic minority insurgencies that have rumbled across Myanmar's frontier states for nearly seven decades, claiming thousands of lives and trapping the borderlands in poverty.
The nobel laureate, who championed a democracy struggle against the former junta, has devoted her first few months in power to kick-starting a fresh peace dialogue between rebel militias and the army. No resolution emerged from the four-day summit, which gave representatives from nearly 20 armed ethnic groups an opportunity to air grievances and outline their political aspirations.
Suu Kyi's biggest achievement was bringing many key players to the table, including rebel armies outside a ceasefire brokered by the former military-backed government last year. However three groups still clashing with troops did not attend the talks, and the powerful Wa - a heavily armed militia based in an area bordering China - stormed out of the conference on day two.