Myanmar's military is losing control of several towns and military outposts across the country and suffering devastation in northern areas as it battles its biggest coordinated offensive yet, launched last month by a coalition of three ethnic minority groups and insurgents.
People flee a village after renewed fighting between Myanmar troops and the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic armed group, in Pauktaw township in western Rakhine state on November 19, 2023. Photo: STR/AFP
A group of 266 Thais and an unspecified number of Filipinos and Singaporeans are being evacuated from Laukkaing in northern Shan state to the Myanmar-China border with help from Myanmar authorities, the Thai Foreign Ministry said.
The Thai Foreign Ministry further announced that the group would be allowed into China and would then fly from the Chinese city of Kunming on two chartered flights to Bangkok, where they would be screened for human trafficking links and any criminal records.
The ministry did not specify the timing of the repatriation flights but said the group would arrive at the Chinese border on Sunday.
Thai authorities have previously said some of those stranded in Myanmar are victims of human trafficking and some may be linked to telecoms fraud gangs.
Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, has become a hub for telecommunications and other online fraud, with hundreds of thousands of people trafficked by criminal gangs and forced to work in fraud centers and other illegal operations, according to the United Nations.
The evacuation to China came a day after 41 Thai citizens were repatriated by land back to Thailand following coordination between the Thai government and the Myanmar military.
Mai Van (according to AFP, CNA)
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