More than 500 people, including soldiers and civilians, crossed into Thailand on Saturday after ethnic armed fighters launched a major assault on a Myanmar military base near the border, Thai authorities confirmed.
The attack, carried out by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), targeted a junta military position in Kayin State around 3:00 PM local time. The Thai army said Myanmar soldiers attempted to hold their ground and called in reinforcements but were ultimately overrun.
According to an official statement, approximately 100 Myanmar soldiers and 467 civilians fled into Thailand’s Tak province, where Thai forces disarmed them and provided humanitarian aid and medical assistance.
The Thai military has since increased patrols along its western border to prevent what it described as a potential “violation of sovereignty by foreign armed forces.”
Saw Thamain Tun, a senior official of the KNLA’s political wing, confirmed the border clash and said joint anti-junta forces had seized “some front posts” from the military. He added that some Myanmar soldiers surrendered to their forces, while others escaped across the border.
Myanmar has remained locked in civil war since the 2021 military coup, with the junta battling an expanding alliance of ethnic armed groups and pro-democracy resistance forces. The KNLA, representing the Karen ethnic minority, has been one of the key players in the anti-junta struggle, long fighting for greater autonomy along Myanmar’s southeastern frontier.
The conflict has triggered widespread displacement. According to the United Nations, more than 81,000 Myanmar refugees and asylum seekers are currently residing in Thailand.
BOB Post