Thailand closes border trade ports after shells from Myanmar fall on Thai territory

Thailand has closed ports along the Moei River after fighting in Myanmar’s Karen State spilled over into Thai territory on Sunday, according to local sources and Thai media reports. The move came after five 60mm mortar shells fired from within Myanmar landed across the border in Thailand’s Tak Province early Sunday, injuring at least two civilians and damaging a house. In response, the Royal Thai Army fired smoke rounds into Myanmar and ordered the closure of cargo ports on the river for one week, sources said. “Operations continued as usual until 2pm yesterday. After that, no more business could take place,” a worker at one port told Myanmar Now on Monday. “By the time of closure, all boats had departed, and no workers remained in the port compound,” he added. Clashes have intensified in the area since November 21, when the Karen National Union (KNU) entered Minletpan, a village on the Moei River about eight miles southeast of the town of Myawaddy, triggering junta airstrikes. Days later, the group raided an online scam compound in the village, which is controlled by the rival Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA). The KNU said there were more than 2,000 people working in the compound, including hundreds of foreign nationals, some of whom subsequently escaped to Thailand. Border trade has been disrupted since mid-August, when Myanmar’s military junta closed one of two major bridges between Myawaddy and the Thai border town of Mae Sot in a bid to deprive the KNU and other anti-regime forces of trade revenue. Despite the closure, some goods have continued to flow into Myanmar through river ports operated by the DKBA, the regime-aligned Karen Border Guard Force, and the KNU/KNLA Peace Council, which typically avoids confrontation with the junta army. In early November, after reclaiming control over a key section of the Asian Highway linking Myanmar and Thailand, the regime announced that it was demolishing scam centres near the border. At the same time, it said that it had cleared storage areas at 30 ports along the Moei River.

Thailand closes border trade ports after shells from Myanmar fall on Thai territory

The move is the latest disruption of trade between the two countries, as fighting intensifies near their shared border

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