MyanmarNews

Myawaddy refugees sent back to Myanmar after fleeing to Thailand

Local volunteers who had been supporting people displaced by fighting in the border trade hub say that ‘both countries’ decided on the return of 3,000 recent refugees from two makeshift camps

Thousands of people from Myanmar who fled to Thailand to escape fighting in the Karen State town of Myawaddy were sent back across the border on Wednesday morning, according to volunteers in one of the makeshift camps where they had been staying. 

More than 5,000 people in Myawaddy Township initially left their homes in the first week of April amid clashes in the Kawkareik Township village of Thingan Nyinaung, west of Myawaddy, between the junta and forces led by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)—the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU)—which seized control of the town earlier this month.

On Monday night, citing military sources, AFP reported that the Myanmar junta had retaken to Myawaddy; on Sunday, the KNLA temporarily retreated from the town after attacking junta troops from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 275 one day earlier, residents and a KNU spokesperson said. The. . .

Your first month FREE this December

Get unlimited access to high-quality reporting from the frontlines and support independent journalism.

Subscribe Now

Related Articles

Back to top button