Thai forces have strengthened security along the border in Tak province, as fighting in Myanmar continued on Saturday, forcing hundreds of ethnic Karen people to flee into Thailand.
Temporary shelters have been set up at a monastery in Mae Ramat district of Tak, where these displaced people are being provided with food and water.
Fighting has intensified in Myanmar’s eastern Karen state, which borders Thailand, with ethnic militia clashing with the military junta.
Reports say 247 people fled into Thailand on Friday and Saturday, due to bombing and civil unrest just a few kilometres from the border.
Major General Maitree Chupreecha, commander of the Thai military’s Naresuan Force, told AFP that people are being frightened by the drone bombings of military positions.
He believes that more people will cross into Thailand, who will need to be repatriated once the situation stabilises.
Although the junta and opposition groups have declared a ceasefire, to facilitate relief efforts after last month’s 7.7-magnitude earthquake killed over 3,700 people, residents told AFP that the fighting has continued in Karen towns along a major highway leading to the Thai border town of Mae Sot.
