Escalating Conflict in Myawaddy Forces Thousands to Seek Refuge in Thailand
By Network Media Group
Monday, April 22, 2024
Thousands of refugees have fled to Thailand to escape an intensifying conflict in Myawaddy, where Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) soldiers and their allies have seized the border town in Karen State next to Thailand.
A military junta Y-12 aircraft was seen dumping bombs near Friendship Bridge 2, where approximately 100 Burma army soldiers are hiding, and on Yay Pu Kon ward, all day Saturday. Some bullets have struck Thailand, and at least three shells have landed on the banks of the Moei River.
“Clashes intensified here from 8 am until 5 pm with jet fighters, combat helicopters, and a Y-12 plane bombing and attacking with machine-gun fire all day long,” a local resident, who lives near Friendship Bridge 2, told NMG.
Ko Poe Thingyan, secretary of the Irrawaddy Association, said regime soldiers from Infantry Battalion (IB) 275 are taking cover under the bridge.
“These Burma army soldiers are so tricky. At first, it seemed they were going to surrender to KNLA or might flee to Thailand. Later, they built bunkers near the bridge to prepare for their defense.”
He suggested they might have changed their minds and decided to keep fighting after learning that their comrades from Light Infantry Division 55 were dispatched to provide them relief. Yet, the convoy of soldiers has come under attack from the KNLA and allies on their way and still haven’t been able to enter the town, Ko Poe Thingyan says.
The KNLA and allied forces have been attacking the IB 275 near the bridge from Friday to Saturday. Both sides have reportedly been firing light and heavy weapons while the regime flew airstrikes against the resistance. Casualties on both sides were still unknown at press time.
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said they are closely monitoring the situation at one of Thailand’s busiest trade routes with Burma. Thailand has confirmed it was preparing humanitarian aid to assist the refugees when they arrive in the country.
Another source, who lives near the bridge, said Thai soldiers in armored vehicles have assembled around the bridge in Mai Sot and deployed an artillery unit with anti-aircraft guns on a hill.
Ko Poe Thingyan said he and other volunteers assisted about 2,000 refugees in escaping to Mae Sot in Thailand on Saturday. He explained they first brought them to a livestock farm close to the bridge and then to a poultry farm away from the bridge when they were safer before Thailand finally allowed them to cross the river and enter the country.
“The Thai authority has provided them shelter and helped them to relocate to a safer area while providing food and drinking water,” a Mae Sot resident confirmed.
The refugees are from Yay Pu, No. 4, Wah Taw wards, and the Trade Zone of Myawaddy.
