Burmese soldiers flee to Thailand after the capture of the city of Myawaddy in an insurgent offensive

April 8 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin confirmed this Monday that he has authorized the landing of a Burmese plane at Mae Sot Airport to repatriate an undetermined number of Burmese who crossed the border with Thailand after the fall of the city of Myawaddy in a new victory for the insurgent militias fighting the military dictatorship.

Srettha has highlighted that the Burmese who will be repatriated on an ATR 72-600 plane are unarmed and has thus denied some information that appeared in the Thai press. He has also expressed his desire for peace, but has recalled that they share more than 2,000 kilometers of border with the neighboring country.

The city of Myawaddy, the main land trade crossing with Thailand, is now under the control of the Karen National Union (KNU) and other militias allied in the People's Defense Forces (PFD) insurgent coalition.

They also control the Ban Pang Kan military base. The KNU itself reported on Friday the surrender of the battalion defending the city, based in Thanganyinaung, about 10 kilometers west of Myawaddy, and has published a video of fighters celebrating this victory and displaying the arsenal obtained as loot.

The PDF reported last Thursday that they had attacked the airport and military headquarters in the capital, Naypyitaw, with drones. The Military Junta has confirmed this attack, but has assured that it was able to destroy all the devices.

This incident adds to the advances of the pro-democracy rebels, who in recent months have achieved important victories against the military forces on the border with China, in Shan State, and also in Rakhine State, bordering Bangladesh.

Burma's military junta seized power by force on February 1, 2021, forcing the country's democratically elected government into exile through a coup that, according to opposition activists, has so far left some 4,800 civilians dead and 20,000 detained.