Latest news with #KNLA
CNA
08-05-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Hundreds flee across Thai border after attack on Myanmar military
BANGKOK: More than 300 Myanmar people fled into Thailand to seek refuge following an assault on the military by ethnic armed groups, Thailand said on Thursday (May 8), days after the junta extended a post-earthquake ceasefire. Myanmar has been mired in civil conflict since a military coup in 2021, with the junta battling a coalition of ethnic armed organisations and pro-democracy resistance forces. Wednesday's attack by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and its allied Karen National Defence Organisation (KNDO) targeted a military base in Kayin state, about 2.5km from the Thai border, according to the Thai military. "The attack involved a close-range encirclement of the base and the use of armed drones to continuously drop explosives throughout the day," a statement said. By Thursday, 327 Myanmar nationals had crossed into Thailand and were sheltering in two temporary sites, including a temple, with Thai military and police providing security and humanitarian aid, officials said. Thai forces have ramped up patrols along the border in Tak province to prevent what officials described as a potential "breach of sovereignty by foreign armed forces". Myanmar's military government and various armed groups opposed to it announced a ceasefire after the Mar 28 quake to help relief and recovery efforts. The truce has been repeatedly broken by air strikes by the junta and attacks by armed groups.
The Star
08-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Hundreds flee across Thai border after attack on Myanmar military
By May 8, 2025, a total of 327 Myanmar nationals had crossed into Thailand and were sheltering in two temporary sites. - Photo: EPA-EFE BANGKOK: More than 300 Myanmar people fled into Thailand to seek refuge following an assault on the military by ethnic armed groups, Thailand said Thursday (May 8), days after the junta extended a post-earthquake ceasefire. Myanmar has been mired in civil conflict since a military coup in 2021, with the junta battling a coalition of ethnic armed organisations and pro-democracy resistance forces. Wednesday's attack by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and its allied Karen National Defence Organisation (KNDO) targeted a military base in Kayin state, about 2.5 kilometres (1.5 miles) from the Thai border, according to the Thai military. "The attack involved a close-range encirclement of the base and the use of armed drones to continuously drop explosives throughout the day," a statement said. By Thursday, 327 Myanmar nationals had crossed into Thailand and were sheltering in two temporary sites, including a temple, with Thai military and police providing security and humanitarian aid, officials said. Thai forces have ramped up patrols along the border in Tak province to prevent what officials described as a potential "breach of sovereignty by foreign armed forces". Myanmar's military government and various armed groups opposed to it announced a ceasefire after the March 28 quake to help relief and recovery efforts. The truce has been repeatedly broken by air strikes by the junta and attacks by armed groups. The magnitude-7.7 quake near the central city of Mandalay killed nearly 3,800 and left tens of thousands homeless. - AFP
Arab News
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Myanmar troops under armed attack flee across border: Thai military
BANGKOK: A group of Myanmar soldiers fled across the Thai border on Friday after an assault by an ethnic armed group ousted them from their base, Thailand's military said. Myanmar has been riven by civil war after the military seized power in a 2021 coup, with the junta fighting an array of armed ethnic organizations and pro-democracy partisans. Fighters from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) attacked the Pulu Tu frontier military base in the early hours of Friday, the Thai military said. 'The Myanmar military defended the base but ultimately the KNLA successfully seized control,' it said in a statement. 'Several Myanmar soldiers were killed and some fled across the border into Thailand.' The statement did not specify how many Myanmar soldiers had crossed the border into Thailand's Tak province but said they had been 'provided humanitarian assistance.' KNLA forces seized the base around 3:00 am (2030 GMT Thursday), according to a spokesman for the organization's political wing, the Karen National Union. The KNLA fighters took the base after Myanmar troops 'abandoned their guns and ran into Thailand,' it said. A spokesman for the Myanmar junta could not be reached for comment. The Pulu Tu base is around 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the border town of Myawaddy, a vital trade node that became a battleground between anti-junta fighters and the military last year. The region is also the epicenter of the scam-center boom in Myanmar, where thousands of foreign nationals trawl the Internet for victims to trick with romance or investment schemes. Many workers say they were trafficked into the centers and thousands have been repatriated through Thailand in recent weeks under mounting international pressure. The KNLA has been fighting for decades to establish greater autonomy for the Karen people living along Myanmar's southeastern flank. It is among dozens of ethnic armed organizations, already active before the coup, which have proved the most effective fighting forces against the junta. While the military has suffered substantial territorial losses, analysts say it remains strong in Myanmar's heartland, with an air force capable of inflicting punishing losses on its adversaries. The junta issued a conscription order a year ago to boost its embattled ranks, allowing it to call up all men aged 18-35 for military service.
