Myanmar border-village strike kills 3 Thai document holders
Three people carrying official documents issued by Thai authorities were killed when a Myanmar fighter jet bombed a village just 400 metres from Thailand’s border on Friday night, local authorities said on Saturday.
All three victims were carrying official documents issued by Thai authorities — one had a Thai ID card, another had a card for hilltribe people, and the third had a 10-year card.
Three others were injured in the bombing, which occurred at Thibabo village in Myawaddy Township. One was carrying a Thai ID card and another a card for hilltribe people.
The three injured victims were sent across the border-marking Moei River to Phop Phra district, Tak province, for treatment.
The Myanmar military was reportedly using the MiG-29 jet to bomb a Karen military outpost in the village but the bomb landed on a house belonging to the village head. Those killed and injured were having a meal in the house when the bomb was dropped.
The deadly attack came just a day after a Myanmar fighter jet strayed into Thai airspace over Tak province. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha insisted the incursion was ‘no big deal’, adding Myanmar’s military government had apologised for the incident.
Meanwhile, Border Patrol special operations commander Maj-Gen Prasan Sangsirirak said on Saturday that Thai authorities are coordinating with their Myanmar counterparts to prevent any recurrence of the incident.
Prasan was inspecting the situation at the Thai-Myanmar border in Tak province.
The general and local administrators also delivered food items to Myanmar villagers seeking refuge in Phop Phra as fighting rages across the border.
