Thailand soldiers stand guard at the border of Mae Sot, and trucks wait at a checkpoint to go to Myanmar, following days of clashes that have dislodged junta troops from their positions in a vital trade hub in the neighbouring country of Myanmar.
12th April 2024 09:03 AM 
Thailand's foreign minister, Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara arrived for a visit to the Myanmar border on Friday, following days of clashes that have dislodged junta troops from their positions in a vital trade hub in the neighbouring country.
Foreign minister Bahiddha-Nukara visited two "Friendship bridges" that link the Thai town of Mae Sot with Myawaddy.
Fighting between Myanmar's military and ethnic minority armed groups has rocked the border town of Myawaddy this week, sending people rushing into Thailand, from where the boom of artillery shells and gunfire could be heard.
The conflict in Myanmar sparked by the military's 2021 coup regularly sends people fleeing across the two countries' shared 2,400-kilometre (1,490-mile) border.
The Karen National Union (KNU) told reporters that displaced junta troops were sheltering near the terminus of one of the bridges on the Myanmar side.
Reports have it that a Thai soldier standing guard at the border told reporters that he heard gunshots and blasts in Myanmar during his night watch.
The report also revealed that its fighters and allied "People's Defence Forces" clashed at Kawkareik, about 40 kilometres away from Myawaddy by road, without giving details.
