Thai F16s sent to stop Myanmar military plane entering Thai air space

The Royal Thai Air Force has scrambled two F16 fighters, from its airbase in Nakhon Sawan province, to prevent a Myanmar military aircraft from intruding into Thai air space over the western province of Tak.

The Myanmar plane was detected near the Thai border, in Phop Phra district. It was providing air support to Myanmar troops, based at a camp in Myawaddy, which came under heavy attack by troops from the ethnic Karen National Liberation Army today.

The Karen rebel force launched ground and drone attacks against Myanmar government troops, who responded with air strikes and artillery fire.

According to Thai military sources, Myanmar’s junta still retains four camps in Myawaddy, opposite Umphang and Phop Phra districts of Tak province, while the other camps have fallen to the rebels.

The fighting in Myawaddy, which has been dragging on for weeks, has driven more than 500 Karen civilians, mostly elderly people, women and children, to take refuge on Thai soil. Three temporary shelters have been set up in Phop Phra to accommodate them.

Reinforcements from the Ratchamanu Task Force have been deployed near the border, to prevent the fighting in Myanmar spilling over into Thailand and to provide protection to people living along the border.