Myanmar citizens queued at a border crossing in Myawaddy Township of Karen State to cross into Mae Sot, Tak Province of Thailand on Friday, after the last remaining military outpost in Myawaddy fell to the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of Myanmar oldest ethnic armed organization the Karen National Union (KNU), on Thursday.

The number of people crossing the border from Myawaddy into Mae Sot doubled earlier this week to nearly 4,000 per day, as fighting reached the Thai-Myanmar border town, which is one of the country’s busiest trading posts and a lucrative source of revenue for the military regime in Naypyidaw.

Many Myawaddy residents fleeing into Thailand told Reuters that they left their homes fearing retaliatory airstrikes from the regime. Thailand’s Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-nukara is scheduled to visit Mae Sot on April 12 to hold a press conference on the impact of fighting along its 2,401 km-long border with Myanmar.

REUTERS