New fighting in Burma –

BANGKOK (AP).— About 1,300 people fled eastern Burma to Thailand, authorities reported yesterday, as new fighting broke out in a border town recently captured by ethnic guerrillas.

Fighters from the Karen ethnic minority last week seized the last of the Myanmar army’s outposts in or around Myawaddy, which is connected to Thailand by two bridges across the Moei River.

The latest clashes occurred yesterday morning, when Karen guerrillas launched an attack on Burmese troops hiding near the second crossing, the Friendship Bridge between Thailand and Burma, crucial for trade with the neighboring country, Pittayakorn Phetcharat explained. , police chief of Thailand’s Mae Sot district.

Some 1,300 people would have fled to Thailand, according to the official’s calculations.

Thai authorities indicated that the crossings began the day before yesterday following clashes occurred in several areas of Myawaddy.

Major setback

Myawaddy’s fall is a major setback for the military junta that seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in a coup in February 2021.

The Burmese armed forces have suffered a series of unprecedented defeats since last October and lost large areas of territory, including border posts, both to ethnic guerrillas who have been fighting for greater autonomy for decades, and to pro-democratic units that took over weapons following the military uprising.

The fighting, which included drone strikes by the Karen and airstrikes by the Burmese army, had subsided by midday yesterday, but Phetcharat said sporadic gunfire might still be heard.

Thai authorities moved those fleeing their community to a safe area, the official added.