Around 200 Myanmar military personnel retreated to a bridge linking the border town of Myawaddy to Thailand on Thursday, in response to a prolonged attack in the region by anti-junta insurgents, as reported by a spokesperson for an ethnic armed group and local media.
Myanmar’s military-led government is engaged in combat with armed rebel factions across multiple fronts and has experienced a series of setbacks in border regions.
The withdrawal of junta forces in Myawaddy, situated next to Thailand’s Mae Sot, indicates the looming possibility of losing another vital border trading hub with direct highway links to central Myanmar.
On Thursday, approximately 200 retreating soldiers were observed at the border crossing into Thailand, as stated by Saw Taw Nee, spokesperson for the Karen National Union (KNU), an anti-junta group spearheading the assault on Myawaddy.
Local news outlet Khit Thit disclosed that Thai authorities were engaged in discussions with the soldiers to determine whether to provide them refuge.
Despite attempts to reach out, a spokesperson for the Myanmar junta remained unavailable for comment.
The KNU previously announced that its troops had launched an attack on a junta camp near Myawaddy, compelling around 600 security personnel and their families to surrender.
Thailand’s military has heightened security measures on its border, deploying army vehicles equipped with roof-mounted machine guns.
The ongoing conflict between rebels and the military has led to the displacement of at least 2,000 individuals within Myanmar, as reported by the civil society group Karen Peace Support Network.
According to Reuters, Myanmar’s military, which seized power in a coup in 2021, toppling an elected civilian government, has encountered numerous setbacks against a coalition of ethnic rebel groups and a civilian militia movement.