Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha on Monday acknowledged the problems across his country’s western border and said his government is preparing for a possible influx of people
Children take part in a demonstration against the military coup in Kawkareik township in Myanmar’s Karen state. Pic/AFP
Thai authorities along the country’s border with Myanmar are bracing on Monday for a possible influx of more ethnic Karen villagers fleeing new airstrikes by the Myanmar military. Myanmar aircraft carried out three strikes overnight on Sunday, according to Free Burma Rangers, a humanitarian relief agency that delivers medical and other assistance to villagers. The strikes severely injured one child but caused no apparent fatalities, a member of the agency said.
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Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha on Monday acknowledged the problems across his country’s western border and said his government is preparing for a possible influx of people. “We don’t want to have mass migration into our territory, but we will consider human rights, too,” Prayut said. Asked about people who have already fled into Thailand, Prayut said, “We have prepared some places, but we don’t want to talk about the preparation of refugee centres at the moment.
We won’t go that far.” About 2,500 people, including 200 students, have crossed the Salween River into northern Thailand’s Mae Hong Son province, according to Burma Free Rangers. An estimated 10,000 people are believed to be displaced in Myanmar’s northern Karen state, the agency said. Video shot on Sunday shows a group of villagers, including many young children, resting in a forest clearing inside Myanmar after fleeing their homes.
US readies to react with sanctions
United States President Joe Biden on Sunday called the military violence in Myanmar “absolutely outrageous” and said Washington was working on reacting with sanctions. The situation in Myanmar, which has seen almost daily protests since a military coup in February, was “terrible,” Biden said in comments reported by journalists travelling with the US President on his return from Delaware to Washington, DPA news agency reported.
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