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The Deputy Spokesman of Thai Foreign Ministry Thanawat Sirikul has confirmed Myanmar has cancelled its requested second and third planned evacuation flights to Thailand.
No explanation was given.
Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Thanawat said Monday afternoon the Thai government has approved three evacuation flights from Myanmar on “humanitarian grounds” and no weapons have been carried on the first plane which landed in Tak province on Sunday.
The two other flights, also requested by the Embassy of the Myanmar’s Military Government, was scheduled for today and tomorrow. However, they have been cancelled.
The motive behind this request is the evacuation of 617 military officers and their dependents, who are expected to flee Myawaddy, a city now under the control of rebel ethnic forces.
The request was submitted last night, seeking permission for flights from Sunday to Tuesday, April 9, reports Thai newspaper Thaiger. Despite the urgency, a Myanmar Airways ATR 72-600 aircraft, which landed in Mae Sot at 9.20pm yesterday, April 7, returned to Thailand empty after waiting for approximately an hour without any people boarding the flight.
The situation is reported to have escalated due to reports of Myanmar officials and their dependents being held at Shwe Kokko by ethnic troops. However, despite the increasing tensions, the Myawaddy-Mae Sot border crossing operated normally today.
