Thailand has repatriated greater than 600 Myanmar refugees who fled combating between the navy and ethnic rebels, a senior Thai official mentioned on Sunday, in accordance with a senior Thai official.
Some refugees who arrived in Tak province in northwestern Thailand advised Reuters on Sunday morning that that they had requested to return voluntarily, earlier than heading again to the border. On Sunday afternoon, Reuters reporters on the Thai aspect of the border have been listening to gunshots incessantly.
Provincial governor Somchai Kitcharoenrungroj advised Reuters within the afternoon: “More individuals are keen to return as a result of they’re nervous about their property there.
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, urged Thailand to not ship refugees again to Myanmar.
“Everyone knows that Myanmar’s military intentionally targets civilians with lethal force, so it’s no exaggeration to say that these refugees are literally running for their lives,” Robertson mentioned.
A spokesman for Myanmar’s navy junta didn’t reply their calls on Sunday. The navy denies focusing on civilians.
The Thai-based Myanmar migrant group Aid Alliance Committee mentioned round 1,000 displaced individuals have been tenting alongside the Myanmar border at numerous factors ready to cross the border into Thailand.
On Sunday morning, Reuters reporters noticed dozens of refugees, taking refuge at an area Thai college, being pushed again throughout the border in three vehicles.
“I ran through the Mai Hato locks. Artillery was falling in my neighborhood,” mentioned one refugee, who requested to not be named, standing in a truck as he left for the border. “I’m on this (Thailand) aspect went throughout the water.
Tak province governor Kicharoenrungroj mentioned 623 refugees had been repatriated and a pair of,094 remained on the Thai aspect, including that every one can be returned in the event that they wished. Myanmar has been in turmoil ever since. The navy has ousted a civilian authorities led by Nobel. On February 1, award-winning Aung San Suu Kyi started protests and sporadic clashes between anti-incumbency militias and the navy in rural areas.
Fresh combating broke out final week between Myanmar’s oldest insurgent power, the Karen National Union (KNU) and the navy, prompting hundreds to flee Myanmar’s Karen state.
Some crossed the slim river between Myanmar and Thailand in boats, whereas others sailed by means of chest-high waters holding kids.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
