 "Thai soldiers and members of the media take cover near the 2nd Thailand-Myanmar Friendship Bridge during fighting on the Myanmar side between the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and Myanmar's troops, which continues near the Thailand-Myanmar border, in Mae Sot, Tak Province, Thailand, April 20, 2024. REUTERS")
Fierce clashes erupted at Myanmar’s eastern frontier with Thailand early Saturday, witnesses, media reports, and Thailand’s government confirmed, prompting approximately 200 civilians to flee as rebels intensified efforts to expel junta troops entrenched for days at a border crossing bridge.
Resistance fighters and ethnic minority rebels seized control of the crucial trading town of Myawaddy on the Myanmar side of the border on April 11, dealing a significant blow to the military junta’s authority.
The military, grappling with governance challenges, now faces a pivotal test of its combat capabilities.
Eyewitnesses from both the Thai and Myanmar sides reported hearing explosions and heavy machine gun fire near the strategic bridge from late Friday, with the skirmishes persisting into early Saturday.
Several Thai media outlets corroborated the accounts, stating that approximately 200 individuals had crossed the border into Thailand seeking temporary refuge.
According to Thai broadcaster NBT’s social media post, resistance forces utilised 40-millimeter machine guns and deployed 20 bombs via drones to target an estimated 200 junta soldiers who had retreated following a coordinated rebel offensive on Myawaddy and adjacent army posts since April 5.
Reports could not be immediately verifed and a Myanmar junta spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said he was closely monitoring the unrest and his country was ready to provide humanitarian assistance if necessary.
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More Shorts“I do not desire to see any such clashes have any impact on the territorial integrity of Thailand and we are ready to protect our borders and the safety of our people,” he said on X. He made no mention of refugees.
Myanmar’s military is facing its biggest challenge since first taking control of the former British colony in 1962, caught up in multiple, low-intensity conflicts and grappling to stabilise an economy that has crumbled since a 2021 coup against Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s government.
The country is locked in a civil war between the military on one side and, on the other, a loose alliance of established ethnic minority armies and a resistance movement born out of the junta’s bloody crackdown on anti-coup protests.
The capture of Myawaddy and surrounding army outposts is a significant setback for a junta that has been squeezed by Western sanctions, with the town a key tax revenue source and conduit for more than $1 billion of annual border trade.
The Khaosod newspaper in a post on X showed a video of Myanmar civilians, many of them women and children, being marshalled by Thai soldiers at an entry point to Thailand.
Thailand had on Friday said no refugees had entered the country and it was discussing with aid agencies about increasing humanitarian relief to civilians on the Myanmar side.
With inputs from Reuters