File Photo: This handout photo taken and released on April 11, 2023 by the Royal Thai Army shows people from Myanmar crossing the Moei river on the Thai-Myanmar border to return from Thailand’s Mae Sot district in Tak province. (Photo by Handout / ROYAL THAI ARMY / AFP)
Mizzima/AFP
The Thai government says it is currently monitoring the situation on the Thailand-Myanmar border, particularly around Myawaddy, following a request from the Myanmar junta to allow flights into the Thai town of Mae Sot to evacuate Myanmar citizens.
The Thai government said in a media release and clarification that the Thai government will discuss the border situation today.
The Myanmar junta requested permission for “special” flights to land in Thailand and repatriate Myanmar nationals, the Thai foreign ministry said Monday, following clashes in the nearby vital border hub.
Around 617 personnel have requested evacuation, including 410 soldiers and 207 family members, according to Thai media. These personnel had fled to Thailand following fighting in Myawaddy.
Areas of Myanmar previously untouched by fighting are enduring conflict, with analysts saying the escalation is the biggest threat yet to the junta’s regime.
Over the weekend there were local reports of intense fighting by anti-junta groups near Myawaddy town, across the border from Mae Sot. Myawaddy is the third busiest land crossing, according to the junta’s commerce ministry, with some $1.1 billion in goods passing through over the last 12 months.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed in a statement that a flight from Myanmar had landed at Mae Sot airport on Sunday, returning the same day, after a request was granted on “humanitarian grounds”.
It said the embassy of Myanmar in Bangkok had asked permission on April 6 for three “special” Yangon-Mae Sot flights to transport “passengers and cargo”, over the coming three days.
A ministry spokesperson declined to give further details about the flight.
Karen National Union (KNU) spokesperson Padoh Saw Taw Nee suggested that the Myanmar National Airlines plane returned with no one on board due to a breakdown in negotiations between the junta and Thai officials, reports RFA.
Following the Sunday flight the remaining trips were cancelled, the statement said. It did not give any further details.
Thailand was closely monitoring the situation on the Thai-Myanmar border, and was “ready to take the necessary actions to maintain peace, order and the safety of the people”, the statement added.
In a video taken by local media, Thai soldiers can be seen patrolling along the border, some in armoured cars, with tents and haphazard temporary shelters seen in the near distance.
Earlier Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was asked about the flight, telling reporters: “The flight was not about arms transport or military personnel”.
He added the plane was only carrying “civilian workers”.
Reporting: Mizzima, AFP, RFA
