This content was originally published by Radio Free Asia, and it is now being reprinted with permission.
The cultural Karen National Union claimed in a statement on Thursday that the military’s next battalion was being driven out of a big trade hub in Kayin state by anti-junta rebels and allies along the border between Thailand and Myanmar.  ,
The Karen National Liberation Army — the military wing of the Karen National Union, or KNU— the Karen National Defense Organization, and allied troops overran junta Battalion 275’s center in Myawaddy at around 4: 30 a. m. on Thursday, the KNU said.
The KNU’s assault on the town’s coup jobs was put an end to on April 8; Myawaddy is now fully under rebel forces ‘ control, according to the KNU.
An anti-junta warrior who participated in the floor assaults claimed that rebels had taken control of the squadron’s base after junta troops had refused to surrender.
” First, we attempted agreements for their retreat, but when those efforts failed, we initiated the attack”, said the warrior who, like some interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. ” Upon our assault, they retaliated, and the operation lasted for more than a day …]before ] we successfully took full control of the battalion]base ]”.
The warrior said insurgents had seized a large stash of weapons and ammunition, and are now “engaged in clearing businesses” within the region.
At around 10 a. m.,  , defense fighter jets conducted two attacks in the vicinity of the squadron’s center, said inhabitants of Myawaddy, who added that “access to the place is restricted due to road closures”, but state offices and police stations “appear to be functioning as usual”.
Sheltering near borders gate
One resident claimed that coup soldiers who fled the attack were a shelter close to the No. 2 Friendship Bridge. The bridge, which connects Myawaddy to Thailand’s Mae Sot, is located 10 km ( six miles ) from the two nations ‘ main immigration passageway and is mainly used for transporting cargo and products.  ,  ,
” They ]junta troops ] did n’t surrender. They withdrew to Myawaddy’s No. 2 bridge”, said the tenant, who declined to be named. ” There are about 200 men, including some hurt, in the trailer place near that bridge”.
Another native told they observed forces from Battalion 275 along with “nearly 100 home people” near the bridge, which Thai officials closed to visitors in the evening.
” Then Bridge No. 2 is shut down”, he said. The junta’s forces and accompanying family members are stationed at the gate at the moment, but the other side has not yet accepted them.
The KNU stated in a later on Thursday statement that junta men who retreated to Bridge No. 2 “intended to find shelter in Thailand, but were blocked and have become trapped”.
The chief of the government’s No. According to Colonel Saw Chit Thu, the director general of the junta-aligned Karen Border Guard Forces,” coordinated their departure to Thailand,” and that 44 Light Infantry Division was one of the junta forces trying to cross the border. More than 1, 000 Myawaddy residents fled to Thailand to avoid the battle, according to them.
When contacted by telephone, Saw Chit Thu told RFA that he was “unable to answer at the moment”, without providing additional information.
RFA’s attempts to contact coup director Major General Zaw Min Tun on Thursday went unanswered. The junta has yet to challenge an official statement regarding the most recent fighting in Myawaddy.
Pro- dictatorship media reported that Battalion 275 had “temporarily withdrawn” from Myawaddy, but said the city is still under the control of the military.
Thai reaction to border fight
Allied forces , seized junta Battalions , 355, 356 and 357 in local Thin Gan Nyi Naung community on April 5, as well as parts of a business course on the Eastern Bridge, forcing 67 coup officers, 410 coup troops, and 617 family members to , request evacuation , through Mae Sot’s airport in Thailand on Sunday, according to the KNU. Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs complied on humanitarian grounds.
In response to fierce fighting in Myanmar, Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin later issued instructions to Thai security forces and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strictly restrict Burmese aircraft from entering Thai airspace, according to BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated media outlet.
BenarNews cited , Srettha Thavisin , as saying that Myanmar’s conflict is an internal matter. He explained to the Royal Thai Army and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Thailand’s Chief of Defence Forces would be instructed to inform them that using Thai airspace would be tolerated because it “does not want tensions to escalate.”
At Friendship Bridge No., residents were waiting. 1 to cross into Thailand as usual as of Thursday morning, according to people living in Myawaddy.
According to a Thai immigration official who was quoted by Reuters, the number of people entering Mae Sot from Myawaddy has doubled to almost 4, 000 daily.
