PUBLISHED : 24 Nov 2023 at 15:05
Another group of 24 Thais, who were trapped in northern Myanmar due to escalating clashes between Myanmar soldiers and ethnic rebel groups, were repatriated to Mae Sai border district of Chiang Rai province on Friday.
Myanmar authorities had notified Thai counterparts about the repatriation of the 24 Thais – 16 men and eight women.
The evacuees were moved from Laukkaing to Kenthung in Shan state amid the conflict between Myanmar soldiers and an alliance of ethnic minority groups – the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Arakan Army (AA).
The 24 Thais were under the protection of Myanmar soldiers in Kentung, about 168 kilometres north of Mae Sai. The group left Kentung around 7am on Friday.
They were handed to Thai authorities at the permanent border checkpoint in Mae Sai on the same day, according to a source at the Thai-Myanmar border.
Of the Thais, the youngest was a 18-year-old woman, while the oldest was a 35-year-old man. All of them will undergo health check-ups before being handed over to officials at Chiang Rai Immigration checkpoint.
The Third Army’s public relations centre said on its Facebook page on Friday that the 24 individuals were handed over to army officers at the second Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge in Mae Sai about 11.30am on Friday.
On Monday, a group of 266 Thai nationals who were evacuated by Myanmar authorities from the border town of Laukkaing in Shan State to Kunming in China on Sunday, returned to Thailand on two commercial flights.