More clashes at Myawaddy near border while Thai Foreign Minister visits Mae Sot
Thai Prime Minister Sretta Thavisin, who cancelled a visit to the border town, announced the creation of an ad hoc committee to manage the situation. Over the weekend, more Myanmar refugees continue to pour in their thousands across the border as fighting raged in the area. To avoid another humiliating defeat, Myanmar’s military intensified aerial bombing.
Bangkok (AsiaNews) – Thailand's Prime Minister Sretta Thavisin this morning cancelled a planned visit to Mae Sot, a city on the border with Myanmar, sending instead his Foreign Minister, Deputy Prime Minister Parnpree Bahidda Nukara, in his place.
Recently, “an ad hoc committee to manage the situation resulting from the unrest in Myanmar" was set up, the prime minister twitted. “It will be a mechanism to monitor and evaluate” as well as “analyse the overall situation" and "give opinions and suggestions to manage the situation effectively."
After repeated failures by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to enforce a peace agreement in Myanmar, Thailand is trying to prevent a flood of refugees fleeing the civil war from pouring across its borders by offering itself as a mediator.
“Thailand's role is to do all it can to help resolve the conflict in the neighbouring country, and such a role is also expected by the international community,” said yesterday Dr Prommin Lertsuridej, secretary-general to the prime minister.
Over the weekend, regular army and resistance forces clashed in Myawaddy, the city in Myanmar’s Karen State on the other side of the Thai border from Mae Sot.
Anti-coup forces seized the city from the military after the Border Guard Force turned itself into the Karen National Army (KNA) to support the resistance and the creation of an autonomous Karen state.
On Thursday, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), not to be confused with the KNA, announced that it had intercepted the last remaining group of soldiers from the Infantry Battalion 275.
The military responded with Operation Aung Zeya (named after the founder of the Konbaung dynasty that ruled Burma in the 18th century), which included heavy bombing, in an attempt to recapture Myawaddy and avoid another humiliating defeat.
The Irrawaddy reports that Myanmar’s air force dropped about 150 bombs near the Second Friendship Bridge (one of the links between Mae Sot and Myawaddy), with at least seven falling near the Thai border where border guards are stationed.
Myanmar’s military is increasingly resorting to this tactic after repeated defeats since October, when ethnic militias and the People's Defence Force (PDF) launched a joint offensive. The latter is the armed wing of the National Unity Government (NUG) set up by exiled lawmakers from the ousted, democratically-elected parliament.
This tactic that can only be pursued thanks to continued support from Russia. “Fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, all Russian, were used about 10 kilometres from the Thai-Myanmar border to bomb villages and to deliver supplies and ammo,” a Thai source said.
This has taken the Thai government by surprise. On Saturday, a stray bullet hit the back of a house on the Thai side of the border. No one was injured, but the incident has forced Thailand to beef up its border defences, increasing checks for people crossing the two bridges that connect Myawaddy and Mae Sot, which are still open.
Thai police also detained 15 Myanmar nationals and two Thais who were trying to flee to Malaysia in search of better job opportunities. The group said they crossed the border at Mae Sot with the help of intermediaries.
Experts say that such occurrences are likely to become more frequent as violence escalates in Myanmar, at least until the rainy season, which usually puts a stop to fighting every year.
Recently, Thailand sent aid to Myanmar (through military-run entities) and activated a humanitarian response in Mae Sot.
The NUG thanked Thailand for providing shelter and assistance to refugees, but expects more people to be displaced.
At least 3,000 people – mostly elderly and children – crossed the border over the weekend alone, Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahidda Nukara said two days ago, but about 2,000 returned to Myawaddy on Monday.
Last month, Parnpree announced that the country could take in up to 10,000 Myanmar refugees in and around Mae Sot.
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14/01/2023 17:58
