Myanmar villagers sheltering by Thai border say they are running out of food

MAE HONG SON PROVINCE, THAILAND - Villagers from Myanmar who say they have been forced by Thai authorities to return across the border after seeking shelter in Thailand are too afraid to return home but are running low on food.

"We can't be sure when the planes will come to our place," community leader Naw Then Nay told The Straits Times, referring to the Kayin state village of Deh Pu Noh that was bombed by Myanmar military planes on Saturday night (March 27). "No one wants to go back to their houses."

Instead, the villagers from Ei Tu Hta, a camp for internally displaced people near the Salween River that separates Myanmar and Thailand, are now crowding on the river bank.

"We have been staying on the river bank, near the bush and big rocks we can find," she said. "There are only eight sacks of rice left for more than 2,000 of us here."

She said the community has been asking for help, but was told that efforts to send food supplies to them from Thailand were blocked.

"We urge Thai authorities to allow humanitarian aid groups to access the area," she said.

The Thai military confirmed it was blocking access to the area.

"Under normal circumstances, all activities, including transportation, can run freely. But these are not normal circumstances," Colonel Chaidan Grisanasuwarn, commander of the special taskforce of Thailand's 7th infantry division overseeing the area in Mae Hong Son province, told The Straits Times on Wednesday.

Over 2,000 of the ethnic Karen villagers had fled across the river during the weekend amid escalating violence by Myanmar's junta, which took power after a Feb 1 military coup. The Myanmar military bombed Deh Bu Noh, which is run by ethnic armed group Karen National Union (KNU), after KNU soldiers raided a military outpost earlier that day. At least two villagers died in the bombing.

Thai authorities on Tuesday denied pushing some 2,000 villagers back across the border. They also released pictures of some among the seven wounded people they had allowed into a Thai hospital for treatment.

"It is Thailand's policy not to push back anyone fleeing from fighting in Myanmar. Some have been allowed back voluntarily as they have depleted their food supplies that they have brought from their villages across the border in Myanmar," foreign ministry spokesman Tanee Sangrat said on Tuesday. "They often stay a few days until they are convinced that it is safe to return."

Mae Hong Son governor Sitthichai Chindaluang also said the province has established procedures to coordinate support for refugees if the situation escalates.

Colonel Chaidan told ST on Wednesday: "We haven't forced them back. We had a conversation with them and they agreed to go. We told them the truth, that their stay (in Thailand) should be as short as possible and we don't have any food for them because the sites are so remote and all transportation will not be easy."

"We also had a conversation with the armed parties to assure their safety," he said, referring to the Myanmar military and KNU troops.

Ms Naw Then Nay however, insisted that she and her fellow villagers had been forced to leave.

"We have been living in fear and desperation. We wanted our children to live without fear, to have a good night's sleep for once. We needed temporary sanctuary and never wanted to trouble anyone beyond that. We hope that is the least we can get from our friends," she said. "But we were forced to go back."

Among those stranded on the Salween river bank are children, the elderly, as well as medical patients, she said.

Thailand is still housing some 80,000 refugees from Myanmar who have not been repatriated or resettled in third countries over the past three decades.

Brewing tension between Myanmar's military and ethnic armed groups opposing the coup now threatens to flare into large-scale conflict that could send thousands more surging across the border.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, at least 521 people have been killed by the junta since the coup and over 2,000 people detained. Thailand has reportedly asked Myanmar's new military rulers to reduce the level of violence.

Ei Tu Hta camp leader Saw Ka Doe told ST: "People are so afraid that keeping together in a big group brings them no comfort.

"With these air strikes, I can't say what could happen to us."