A drone used in Myanmar’s civil war exploded in Thai territory, killing three migrant workers. The tragedy reveals the dangerous spillover of the conflict across borders.
Three people from Myanmar were killed and two others were injured when a drone exploded in neighboring Thailand, where the people were working. This was announced on Wednesday by the Thai police, according to which this drone was used in the civil war in Myanmar. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
- Three Myanmarese died in a drone explosion in Thailand’s Tak province.
- Two other people from Myanmar were injured and ended up in hospital.
- The attack drone hit a tree on the Thai side of the border and exploded.
- Since 2021, a fierce conflict between the army and the rebels has been going on in Myanmar.
- Both the army and ethnic armed groups in Myanmar are intensively deploying drone-type weapons.
Thai officials received reports of an explosion in Tak province, bordering Myanmar, on Tuesday afternoon local time and rushed to the scene, the police chief said. An apparent attack drone hit a tree on the Thai side of the border and then exploded.
Workers from Myanmar among the victims
“Three people were killed, they were migrant workers from Myanmar, and two others are injured,” he said. These persons worked on a farm where chili is grown. The injured persons – also from Myanmar – were taken to a local hospital for treatment.
AFP clarifies that Myanmar’s armed forces have been fighting a large number of pro-democracy guerrilla groups and powerful ethnic minority armed groups since 2021, when the military seized power in a coup.
Border conflicts continue
Myanmar’s border regions are home to various ethnic minority groups, many of whom have been fighting the military for autonomy and control over lucrative natural resources since the country gained independence from Britain in 1948.
Both the military and ethnic armed groups use drones in combat, but it was not immediately clear which side launched the drone that exploded on Thai soil, according to AFP.
Rebel groups in eastern Myanmar’s Karen state control most of the state’s territory, which borders Thailand’s Tak province, and on Tuesday many Myanmarese fled across the border into Thailand due to heavy fighting with the army, local media reported.
