More than 1,000 residents on Myanmar’s border have fled to neighboring Thailand since Wednesday morning, residents told Radio Free Asia.
Fighting between the Karen Nation Union and allied guerrilla armies, or People’s Defense Forces, and junta troops has intensified since rebel forces began their attack on Kayin state’s Myawaddy on Saturday.
Junta troops are constantly launching airstrikes in retaliation, residents told RFA on Wednesday.
One man in Myawaddy said fighting has intensified since Tuesday morning and continued into the night.
“Normally, about 100 people are seen passing through the bridge every day. But this morning, there were more than 1,000 people,” he said, declining to be named for security reasons. “Of course, they are worried about the battle. So, all are fleeing to their relatives in [the Thai border city of] Mae Sot.”
The junta’s Infantry Battalion 275, located two miles from Myawaddy, was stormed by Karen National Union joint forces on Tuesday, but junta forces are putting up strong resistance, he added.
Junta airstrikes demolished some homes near a highway bus station close to Infantry Battalion 275, civilians living in Myawaddy said.
On Sunday, junta troops requested evacuation of over 600 soldiers and their families through Mae Sot, as well as administrative documents, according to Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. One flight left Mae Sot International Airport on Sunday night, but subsequent flights scheduled for Monday and Tuesday were canceled at the request of Myanmar’s military. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Myanmar’s junta have not released any information on how many boarded the flight.
RFA attempted to contact Kayin state’s junta spokesperson Saw Khin Maung Myint for comment on the number of junta troops left in the border city, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Thailand’s army has increased security in Mae Sot, according to Myanmar nationals living there. Thai military vehicles and soldiers observing the border were seen under Friendship Bridge No. 1, which connects Mae Sot with Myanmar’s Myawaddy.
Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.
