Thailand\u2019s foreign minister is visiting a border town near Myanmar, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, after days of clashes in which the military government\u2019s troops were expelled by ethnic minority armed groups that displaced hundreds of residents. On Friday, Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara will also visit two \u201cfriendship bridges\u201d that link the Thai town of Mae Sot and Myanmar\u2019s Myawaddy, an important trading hub between the two nations. Thailand\u2019s Foreign Ministry said he would review preparations for a further influx of people fleeing the fighting in Myanmar. Earlier this week Thailand said it was prepared to accept 100,000 people fleeing from Myanmar. But Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin warned on Thursday that the fighting should not spill into his country\u2019s airspace. Fighting between Myanmar\u2019s military and ethnic minority armed groups has rocked Myawaddy this week, sending people rushing into Thailand, from where the boom of artillery shells and gunfire could be heard. The conflict in Myanmar set off by the military\u2019s 2021 coup regularly sends people fleeing across the two countries\u2019 shared 2,400km (1,490-mile) border. On Thursday, the Karen National Union (KNU) rebel group said it displaced troops loyal to the military-backed government, who were sheltering near one of the bridges on the Myanmar side. As fighting intensified, the numbers crossing to Mae Sot from Myawaddy doubled this week to about 4,000 a day, according to the Reuters news agency. Among those trying to cross into Thailand were Moe Moe Thet San and her son, residents of Myawaddy. \u201cI am afraid of air strikes. They caused very loud noises that shook my house,\u201d she told Reuters. \u201cThat\u2019s why I escaped here. They can\u2019t bomb Thailand.\u201d The complete capture of Myawaddy would be seen as a humiliating defeat for the military government, which has suffered a string of battlefield losses in recent months that prompted rare criticism of its top brass by its supporters. Myanmar military spokesman Zaw Min Tun confirmed to reporters late on Thursday that government soldiers \u201chad to withdraw\u201d from their base in Myawaddy, saying it was for their families\u2019 safety. He said the government and Thai authorities were in discussions about the soldiers, but did not give any details about how many were involved. Thailand, which says it is keeping neutral in the Myanmar conflict has pursued engagement, including aid deliveries, with its neighbour since Srettha came to power last August.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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