Thai Troops Still on Alert Along Thai-Myanmar BorderThai troops deployed along the Thai-Myanmar border are still on alert and tight surveillance, as Myanmese forces are prepared to launch renewed crackdown on armed ethnic groups, the Thai News Agency (TNA) reported Thursday.Thai troops, particularly those who were deployed along the border in the northern province of Mae Hong Son, are now on high alert and perform tight surveillance following a fresh clash between Myanmese forces and their ethnic allies with the armed Kaya Karen group on Wednesday. The clash caused an influx of a number of refugees from the Myanmar side into the Thai soil. Local Thai authorities have provided temporary shelters for the refugees. Thai forces along the border are now prepared to cope with any incident, which may result from possible renewed clashes in the Myanmar side, and to protect refugees in the shelters, said the report. Thai soldiers along the border in the western province of Tak are also well prepared, as it is now the time when Yangon normally cracks down the armed Karen National Unit (KNU), and more Yangon forces with heavy arms have been moved in near the border, it added. Local authorities had told leaders of 17 villages in six sub- districts along the border to warn villagers to be aware of their safety and to arrange local security system. Thai forces are also well prepared along border areas in Mae Sai and Mae Fa Luang districts of Chiang Rai. Border tension has resulted in reduced smuggling of metamphetamines into the Thai territory over the past weeks, the report noted. |
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