Myanmar troops retreat to Thai border bridge after days of fighting
Al Jazeera
Deteriorating situation in Myawaddy adds to pressure on generals who seized power in a 2021 coup.
Some 200 Myanmar soldiers have withdrawn to the so-called Friendship Bridge connecting the border town of Myawaddy to Thailand amid a relentless assault by anticoup forces.
The retreat is another indication of the rising pressure facing the generals who seized power in a coup in February 2021, leading to an uprising against their rule.
In a statement on Facebook, the Karen National Union (KNU), the ethnic armed group that has been leading the attack on Myawaddy, said its forces had defeated the 275 battalion, the remaining major military force in the town, in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Saw Taw Nee, a KNU spokesperson, told the Reuters news agency, that about 200 soldiers had gathered at the bridge, while the Myanmar news outlet Khit Thit reported that Thai authorities were in talks with the soldiers to decide whether to grant them refuge.
Myawaddy is a strategically important town just across the border from Thailand’s Mae Sot. Television footage from the Thai side of the border showed plumes of black smoke rising into the air.
