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Thailand Sends Refugees Back to Myanmar Amid Continued Fighting

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ASEAN Beat | Politics | Southeast Asia

Thailand Sends Refugees Back to Myanmar Amid Continued Fighting

Civilians were among the several thousand who fled fierce fighting around the town of Lay Kay Kaw last week.

Thailand Sends Refugees Back to Myanmar Amid Continued Fighting

Myanmar villagers rest in an evacuation area after fleeing to Thailand following clashes between Myanmar troops and an ethnic Karen rebel group Friday, December 17, 2021, in Mae Tao, Tak province, northern Thailand.

Credit: AP Photo/Chiraunth Rungjamratratsami

Authorities in Thailand have sent over 600 Myanmar refugees who fled ongoing fighting between the military and ethnic rebels in Karen State back across the border, according to a report yesterday from Reuters that cited a senior Thai official.

The people were among several thousand who fled across the Moei River into Thailand when fighting broke out last week around the town of Lay Kay Kaw between the Myanmar military and the Karen National Union (KNU), the country’s oldest rebel force.

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