Karen rebels attack stranded Myanmar junta forces on Thai border – Asia Pacific

The clash occurred after the Karen National Liberation Army, an armed wing of the Karen National Union, captured most of the junta’s Infantry Battalion 275, which was based outside Myawaddy, on April 10.

But 200 junta soldiers remained at the customs complex near the No. 2 Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge over the Moei River, which connects the two countries.

The setback is the latest in a series of battlefield losses suffered by the junta as several rebel groups push back the army across the country amid the three-year civil war sparked by the junta’s coup in February 2021.

The fighting started at 3 a.m. Saturday, Thai soldiers standing guard along the river and local residents said. The fighting centered around the customs house near the bridge as the rebels apparently planned to wipe out the remaining junta forces, they said.

“The KNU opened the attack first, the junta forces fought back,” a Thai soldier who asked not to be named due to sensitivity, told RFA.

A few days ago, the junta announced ‘Operation Aung Zeya’ aimed at recapturing Myawaddy, a key city on a major trade route with Thailand.

As the sun rose Saturday morning, Myanmar’s air force deployed several missions of Y-12, MiG-29 and MI-35 attack helicopters amid intermittent gunfire. Some residents near the bridge watched the planes through binoculars as a few stray rifle bullets whistled past, prompting them to dive.

Smoke billowed into the air after every artillery shell and bomb explosion.

The casualties of Karen and junta soldiers as well as civilians were not immediately known.

An ambulance was seen driving in and out of the neighborhood near Thailand’s Yepu Hill, which overlooks the casinos in Myawaddy, while hundreds of people living near the river were trucked to a hospital for safety. cattle farm were transported.

Thailand’s Foreign Ministry said it is closely monitoring the situation, with Thai security forces on the ground on high alert.

“Thailand has provided and will continue to provide further humanitarian assistance as needed and will do our utmost to ensure that the situation along the Thailand-Myanmar border area returns to normal,” ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said in a statement .

Radio Free Asia (RFA), a news service affiliated with BenarNews, produced this report.