Burmese military troops have completely withdrawn from Myawaddy, a strategic border town for trade with Thailand; It was another significant defeat for the army, which has been struggling for months in the north and west of the country. The location is important to the Burmese junta, as trade through Myawaddy was $1.1 billion in the past twelve months, a key source of revenue for the Burmese military – cash-strapped – according to the Burmese Ministry of Commerce.
“We took it [le bataillon militaire de Birmanie] 275 last night at 10 pm »Padoh Saw Taw Nee, spokesman for the Karen National Union (KNU), one of the main rebel movements against the military regime, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Thursday April 11. A bridge connecting Myawaddy to the Thai border town of Mae Chot.
A Thai immigration official told AFP that the city “fallen” On Wednesday night, he requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. AFP journalists at a border post heard a noise coming from the Burmese side after a plane took off around 10:30 a.m. local time (5:30 a.m. in Paris) on Thursday.
According to residents, fighting started around Myawadi on Tuesday and no sound of clashes was heard during the night from Wednesday to Thursday. “The fighting stopped at 8pm last night”A Myawaddy resident told AFP that he could not independently verify the KNU's claims because Myawaddy was inaccessible to journalists.
A series of defeats for military rule
On Wednesday, hundreds of people lined the border to escape days of fighting around Myawadi. Thailand shares a 2,400-kilometer border with Myanmar, where a 2021 military coup against the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi has reignited conflict between the ruling junta and its ethnic and political opponents.
For months, the junta has suffered a series of defeats in the north and west of the country. An immigration official told AFP that the number of people passing through the Thai immigration post daily from Burma has increased to four thousand in recent days, compared to the usual 1900.
He said authorities are increasing the number of immigration agents to cope with the surge in arrivals. At the end of the day Wednesday, the commander of the 3e Thai Army Lt. Gen. Prasarn Sangsirirak told local media “Intensified” patrolling its borders.
“We will provide humanitarian assistance, but if stray bullets cross the Thai border, we will respond with mild or severe measures.”, he announced. On Tuesday, Thailand's foreign minister said it was ready to welcome 100,000 people fleeing the ongoing conflict. Thai Prime Minister Shretha Thavisin spoke to her ministers earlier this week about the situation at the border.
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