Thai Minister Visits Myanmar Border

Thailand's foreign minister arrived for a visit to the Myanmar border, the ministry said, following days of clashes that have dislodged junta troops from their positions in a vital trade hub in the neighboring country.

Fighting between Myanmar's military and ethnic minority armed groups has rocked the border town of Myawaddy this week, sending people rushing into Thailand, from where the boom of artillery shells and gunfire could be heard.

The conflict in Myanmar sparked by the military's 2021 coup regularly sends people fleeing across the two countries' shared 2,400-kilometer border.

Foreign minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara will visit two "Friendship bridges" that link the Thai town of Mae Sot with Myawaddy, Thailand's foreign affairs ministry said.

The Karen National Union said that displaced junta troops were sheltering near the terminus of one of the bridges on the Myanmar side.

Seven Thai armored cars carrying soldiers arrived to relieve the night watch, kicking up dust on the road.

The complete capture of Myawaddy would be a humiliating defeat for the junta, which has suffered a string of battlefield losses in recent months that have prompted rare criticism of its top brass by its supporters.

During his one-day visit, Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara will also view preparations for a further influx of people fleeing fighting in Myanmar, according to the foreign affairs ministry.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said the kingdom "won't allow anyone to get in our airspace", referring to the recent clashes in Myawaddy.

In 2022 Thailand scrambled jet fighters after Myanmar's air force breached its airspace during operations against anti-coup fighters.

Earlier this week Thailand said it was prepared to accept 100,000 people fleeing from Myanmar.