NAYPYIDAW: Thousands of people have fled to Thailand after fierce fighting between Myanmar military and rebels, Thai officials said on Thursday.
The country has been in turmoil since Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government was toppled in a military coup two years ago.
Thai officials said skirmishes had started between Myanmar’s forces and armed ethnic rebels near the Karen state outpost town Myawaddy, bordering the Tak province of Thailand.
Tak provincial officials said about 3,998 people have fled into Thailand’s temporary shelter across ten areas.
Government agencies and NGOs were busy providing people with water and food.
The statement said local armed forces, civil administration, and police closely monitored the situation.
Long-established ethnic rebel outfits and dozens of “People’s Defence Forces” militias have displayed their opposition to the coup, frequently clashing with the military.
Civilians are regularly forced to flee into the nearby Thai border as fighting threatens their lives and homes.
Recent fighting between loosely affiliated militias, rebel groups, and the military has seen tensions in the Karen state soar.
A leader of the anti-junta Karen National Army, Padoh Saw Thamain Tun, confirmed clashes in the area.
He said some two thousand people were displaced and crossed the border into Thailand.
Intense fighting in the state in January, around Kyonedoe and the town of Payathonzu, also saw scores of civilians flee to Thailand.
Fighting perishes over 2,700 people
Over 2,700 civilians have perished in Myanmar since the military took power in February 2021, according to a local monitoring group.
The military blames anti-coup fighters for a civilian death tally it has put at nearly 3,900.
