Thousands of Myanmar Villagers Poised to Flee Violence to Thailand, Group Says
Voice of America
MAE SARIANG, THAILAND - Thousands of ethnic Karen villagers in Myanmar are poised to cross into Thailand if, as expected, fighting intensifies between the Myanmar army and Karen insurgents.
Karen rebels and the Myanmar army have clashed near the Thai border in the weeks since Feb. 1, when Myanmar's generals ousted an elected government led by democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi, displacing villagers on both sides of the border. "People say the Burmese will come and shoot us, so we fled here," Chu Wah told Reuters. The Karen villager said he crossed over to Thailand with his family this week from the Ee Thu Hta displacement camp in Myanmar. "I had to flee across the river," Chu Wah said, referring to the Salween River that forms the border in the area.This handout photo released on June 2, 2024 shows South Korean military officers check unidentified objects believed to be North Korean trash from balloons that crossed the inter-Korea border, on a street in Seoul. In this photo provided by Jeonbuk Fire Headquarters, balloons with trash presumably sent by North Korea, hang on electric wires as South Korean army soldiers stand guard in Muju, South Korea, May 29, 2024.
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FILE - In this photo provided by Jeonbuk Fire Headquarters, balloons with trash presumably sent by North Korea hang on electric wires as South Korean army soldiers stand guard in Muju, South Korea, May 29, 2024. This photo provided by Incheon Fire Headquarters shows balloons with trash presumably sent by North Korea, in Incheon, South Korea, June 2, 2024.