In a dramatic escalation of Myanmar’s civil war, ethnic armed fighters from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) stormed a military outpost in the eastern Kayin State on Saturday, forcing over 500 individuals—including 100 Myanmar troops and 467 civilians to flee across the border into Thailand.
The coordinated assault took place around 3:00 PM near the Pulay area, prompting a mass exodus as Myanmar soldiers, facing a well-armed rebel offensive, abandoned their positions. According to a statement issued by the Royal Thai Army, the fleeing personnel were disarmed upon crossing into Thailand and were provided with urgent medical aid and humanitarian assistance.
“Those who entered were treated in accordance with international humanitarian protocols,” the Thai military stated, confirming the influx of refugees into Tak Province, where emergency response mechanisms were immediately activated.
Saw Thamin Tun, a senior political leader of the KNLA, confirmed to AFP that the group part of the broader anti-junta alliance had captured “several forward military positions” in a joint offensive. He claimed that a number of Myanmar soldiers defected and joined the resistance, while others fled the battlefield entirely.
This latest confrontation underscores the increasingly fragile control of Myanmar’s military regime, which has been engaged in multi-front combat since its 2021 coup d’état triggered a national uprising and gave rise to a potent insurgency comprised of ethnic armed groups and pro-democracy resistance forces.
Meanwhile, in central Myanmar’s embattled Sagaing region an epicenter of resistance to junta rule at least 20 civilians, including children, were killed in a late-night airstrike on a Buddhist monastery sheltering displaced families.
The airstrike occurred around 1:00 AM on Friday in Lin Tar Loke village, where civilians had taken refuge inside the monastery believing it to be a safe haven. A local resistance member told AFP that 22 people were killed, among them three children, and two severely injured survivors were rushed to a nearby hospital.
“They believed the monastery would be a sanctuary but even holy sites are no longer spared,” the activist said. The military regime has not issued a statement regarding the attack. Requests for comment sent to junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun by international media have gone unanswered.
According to United Nations figures, Myanmar’s post-coup civil war has displaced more than 2.6 million people nationwide. In neighboring Thailand, the number of refugees and asylum seekers fleeing the conflict has reached an estimated 81,000, with border provinces like Tak and Mae Hong Son witnessing regular cross-border spillover from ongoing battles.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly condemned the junta’s use of indiscriminate airpower and artillery in civilian zones, calling for international accountability mechanisms to prevent further atrocities.
As the Myanmar military continues to lose strategic ground across multiple fronts, experts warn that the conflict is entering a more volatile and unpredictable phase—one marked by battlefield desertions, civilian mass displacement, and the potential for regional destabilization.
