Thai Border Residents Terrified as Myanmar Clashes Intensify
TAK, Dec 2 (TNA) - Residents of Mae Kon Ken village, situated along the Thai-Myanmar border in Tak province, spent a terrifying night awakened by continuous gunfire and watching the glow of fire across the Moei River as heavy fighting raged between the Myanmar military and anti-junta resistance forces.
The intensity of the cross-border violence forced the Thai military to fire warning smoke shells. Disturbingly, six more rounds of heavy and small arms fire reportedly landed on the Thai side overnight, adding to the twelve such incidents recorded over the past week.
The latest flare-up marks nearly a month of continuous heavy fighting since the resistance group, the Karen National Union (KNU), successfully seized the area around Min La Pan Village. This area, located about two kilometers from the recently shelled KK Park complex, is a major online scamming hub reportedly operated by Chinese criminal groups under the protection of a faction of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA). The Myanmar military has been attempting to retake the area but has faced stiff resistance for the past week. An estimated 2,000 scamming personnel and foreign victims fled the area, with over 1,000 crossing into Thailand in two waves and being detained by Thai authorities for processing.
The fighting over these criminal financial interests has severely impacted the Thai side of the border. The total of twelve stray shells and heavy weapons fire landing in Thailand over the past week has damaged at least 11 homes and injured four civilians. Nearly 2,000 residents across four villages, including Mae Kon Ken, are living in fear, and the Ban Mae Kon Ken school, near the conflict zone, has been closed indefinitely for safety reasons after a previous incident where a round fell onto school grounds.
In response, Thai security forces, including Ranger troops and Border Patrol Police, have reinforced the entire border area. They have closed all five piers for cross border goods transport and issued a firm warning to the Myanmar side.
Thai officials stated that any further cross-border fire would lead to retaliatory action under the rules of engagement, escalating from low to heavy force, to protect national sovereignty.
Separately, Thai security authorities began the process of deporting over 1,200 Chinese scamming personnel who fled from KK Park in Myawaddy over the past month. The first batch of 300 individuals was flown back to China on Monday to face prosecution, with the full repatriation expected to take four days. -819 (TNA)
