Thousands of Myanmar Villagers Poised to Flee Violence to Thailand, Group Says

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.