HUNDREDS of refugees crossed over from Myanmar to Thailand an ethnic rebel group fighting Myanmar’s armed forces seized a strategic border town and seized weapons from surrendering troops.
Fears of the Myanmar forces launching airstrike after the fall of Myawaddy caused the number of refugees overnight.
Fighting between the warring parties gained momentum after guerrillas from the Karen ethnic rebel group said they had captured the last of the army’s strongholds in eastern Myanmar’s Myawaddy township.
Fighting between the armed forces and minority groups has intensified since October of last year.
The Thai army heightened security and border patrol under Friendship. Bridge Number 1, links the border towns of Mae Sot in Thailand and Myawaddy in Myanmar.
Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-nukara visited the first and second Thailand-Myanmar Friendship Bridges to assess the situation at the border.
The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has dispatched two F-16 fighter jets to patrol the airspace above Tak’s Mae Sot district.
The Thai military has also prepared a temporary safe area for any affected civilians.
