Mae Sot border school suspends classes amid Myanmar conflict fears

A school in the Mae Sot district of Thailand’s Tak border province suspended classes today over safety concerns, following security reports of an imminent clash between Myanmar government troops and Karen resistance forces just across the border.

Thawatchai Saengplaeng, director of Ban Mae Kon Ken School in Maha Wan sub-district, announced that the school would close for one day after receiving reports from local sources that about 200 Myanmar troops had been deployed to the Pa Sak operations base in Myawaddy township.

The reinforcements are believed to be preparing for an attack on resistance forces at Ban Phalu, opposite Ban Huai Mahawong in Moo 9 of Maha Wan sub-district.

Therefore the school, which started a new semester last week, determined that any fighting would pose a risk to the safety of students and teachers, the director said.

If the situation is deemed safe enough, normal classes will resume tomorrow and the school said it will announce make-up class arrangements in due course.

Stray bullets from fighting in Myanmar hit windows of school buildings under renovation and caused injuries earlier this month.

Spent shell casings of various sizes were found on the school grounds.

Those deemed safe have been collected by the school for use as teaching materials, to educate children about safety and survival skills, while other dangerous objects have been removed and secured by officials, who have also completed safety inspections of the area.

Meanwhile, the Border Patrol Police’s 4103 border surveillance unit, in Tha Sae district of Chumphon, reported on Sunday morning that Myanmar military aircraft had carried out an air strike on a base of the Karen Kawthoolei Army (KTLA) on the Myanmar side of the border, opposite the Thai border observation post.

According to the report, a Myanmar warplane dropped three bombs on the area. No details were immediately available on the extent of the damage or the number of casualties and Thai security agencies are closely monitoring the situation.

The Thai-Myanmar border in Tha Sae district stretches about 58 kilometres, bordering Bang Saphan Noi district of Prachuap Khiri Khan to the north and Kraburi district of Ranong to the south.

Security sources say two main Karen armed groups are currently active along the Tha Sae border area.

One is the Karen National Union (KNU), which has about one battalion stationed 50-70 kilometres inside Myanmar.

The other is the KTLA, with an estimated 200 to 500 fighters and bases located near the Thai border in Tha Sae district.