Hundreds of Thais in Myanmar have been evacuated to China.

Myanmar's military is losing control of several towns and military outposts across the country and is being devastated in northern areas as it battles its biggest coordinated offensive yet, launched last month by a coalition of three ethnic minority groups and rebels.

Residents flee a village after renewed fighting between the Myanmar army and the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic minority armed group, in the town of Pauktaw in western Rakhine state on November 19, 2023. Photo: STR/AFP

The Thai Foreign Ministry said 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 assistance from the Myanmar authorities.

The Thai Foreign Ministry further announced that the group would be allowed into China and would then fly from Kunming, China, on two chartered flights to Bangkok, where they would be screened for any involvement in human trafficking 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 previously stated that some of those stranded in Myanmar were victims of human trafficking and some may be linked to telecommunications fraud gangs.

According to the United Nations, Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, has become a hub for telecommunications and other online fraud activities, with hundreds of thousands of people trafficked by criminal gangs and forced to work in scam centers and other illegal operations.

The evacuation to China took place a day after 41 Thai citizens were repatriated to Thailand by land following coordination between the Thai authorities and the Myanmar military.

Mai Vân (according to AFP, CNA)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/hang-tram-nguoi-thai-lan-o-myanmar-chay-sang-trung-quoc-do-giao-tranh-ac-liet-post273170.html