Bangkok: The Thai-Myanmar border situation remains tense, with Myanmar soldiers and the Karen KNLA clashing fiercely, while hundreds of Myanmar people have fled back into Thailand.
According to Thai News Agency, the clash occurred since early this morning. The Karen National Liberation Front (KNLA) rapid response unit with weapons led forces to surround Hill 1248, the Pulutu base, which is a strategic hill for the Burmese military, opposite Ban Talaoka, Village 6, Mae Usu Subdistrict, Tha Song Yang District, Tak Province, approximately 800 meters from the border. The two sides of the army clashed fiercely. The Karen National Liberation Front used grenades and machine guns to bombard the Burmese military base on the top of the high mountain. The sound of explosions and gunshots could be heard throughout the Thai-Burmese border for more than 1 hour.
The Myanmar military used heavy weapons and heavy machine guns to open fire from the top of the hill on the Karen soldiers before a Myanmar Air Force fighter jet flew low along the Thai-Myanmar border and dropped large bombs. The clashes resulted in 467 villagers from Myanmar crossing over to the Thai side to temporary safety in Ban Nong Bua, Mae Usu Subdistrict, Tha Song Yang District, Tak Province, and hundreds more crossing the border to live behind Mae Usu Cave. Thai soldiers brought food and drinking water to help.
At 8:00 a.m., the Royal Thai Air Force sent 2 F-16 fighter jets to fly to protect the airspace of Tak Province. This clash was the biggest in 10 days. Thai soldiers with weapons are urgently maintaining their positions along the border area and patrolling the area strictly.
However, the situation is still not trustworthy. It is expected that the KNLA Karen military will reinforce their forces with weapons to seize the Myanmar military base at Pu Lu Tu after there has been daily shootings for the past 10 days. It is expected that the situation will become more tense.