MAE SOT — Heavy fighting between the Myanmar military and anti-regime resistance forces spilled across the border into Thailand on Friday, when an artillery round landed in a village, injuring two Thai civilians and causing property damage, officials said.
The incident occurred near the Moei River, opposite Thailand’s Tak province, as Myanmar Army forces escalated an offensive against a resistance base. The projectile struck the center of Mai Mae Kon Khen village, forcing authorities to issue urgent warnings for residents to seek shelter from stray fire and shrapnel.
Thai officials reported that two villagers were wounded. One victim, identified as Som Champa, 68, sustained serious injuries from shrapnel while sheltering inside his home and was rushed to Mae Sot Hospital. Several homes and vehicles in the community were also damaged by the blast.
The fighting erupted when a large contingent of Myanmar Army Light Infantry Division 22 forces, utilizing heavy weaponry, launched a sustained attack on the “Pa Sak Base,” a strategic position held by resistance fighters along the riverbank in Myawaddy Township, Kayin State, Myanmar. Resistance forces returned fire with heavy machine guns and mortars, resulting in more than an hour of intense shelling and explosions.
In response to the cross-border breach, Thai forces from the Rajamanu Special Task Force fired four rounds of smoke ordnance into the conflict zone in Myanmar as a warning signal.
Community leaders used public address systems to urge residents to evacuate to safe zones immediately, as intelligence suggested the Myanmar military was determined to seize the base, indicating the intensity of the fighting would likely continue. Vulnerable groups, including children and the elderly, have since been moved to secure areas.
Thai defense units, including the Rajamanu Task Force, Border Patrol Police, and local security teams, have reinforced their positions along the frontier to maintain sovereignty and security.
____________
