July 3, 2026
MAE SOT, THAILAND — The unrelenting war in Myanmar is bleeding into Thailand. For over eight grueling months, junta forces have battled KNLA allied troops in Min Lat Pan village, situated directly across the border from Mae Sot. Now, throughout June and July, stray bullets from the Myanmar side have been slamming into family homes in the Thai village of Mae Ko Ken on a daily basis.
The daily terror prompted Thai authorities and the military to convene an urgent town hall on July 2. Officials gathered the shaken residents of Mae Ko Ken at a local administrative office to address emergency safety measures and relief support.
A leader of the Myanmar migrant farm workers living in Mae Ko Ken described the tense reality on the ground: “The Thai military and village chiefs came straight to us. They discussed compensation for the houses and cars hit by the bullets, and how to secure the village. They also announced they are completely shutting down the Moei River crossings connecting us to the Myanmar side [Min Lat Pan and Ingyin Myaing]. The Thai army will deploy troops all along the riverbank. We just don’t know yet if they’ll box us in with fences or barbed wire.”
Right now, junta columns stationed in Min Lat Pan are wildly firing heavy artillery and small arms toward the Thai side almost every single day. The constant threat of crossfire has paralyzed the area, forcing local farmers to abandon their fields and halt all agricultural work.
Village administrators are refusing to let the attacks go undocumented. They have gathered the spent bullets and jagged artillery shrapnel that struck their community, handing the fragments directly to Thai authorities as undeniable physical proof of the spillover.
Following the presentation of this evidence, the Thai military and local authorities issued a formal warning to Myanmar junta officials via the Thai-Myanmar Border Committee (TBC). In response, the junta offered a brief assurance, claiming they would take measures to ensure Thai border areas are not impacted while they continue their offensives against Karen armed groups.
