Over 5,000 Myanmar people have crossed the border to seek refuge in Tak province's Mae Sot and Mae Ramat districts after clashes between ethnic groups and the Myanmar military continued for a second day.
Fighting first broke out on Wednesday when Karen rebels tried to take the Ban Tee Ko Tor area in Myanmar's Myawaddy province, located 3 kilometres from Ban Wang Pha at the Thai border.
Fighting has reportedly continued since then, prompting the evacuation of local people.
A security source in Mae Sot and Mae Ramat districts said the fighting had forced 5,428 people to cross the border and seek refuge in the province.
Authorities have arranged ten shelters: four in Mae Ramat district that can handle 3,264 people and six in Mae Sot district sheltering 2,164 others, including about 800 children.
A source said stray bullets from Myanmar had been fired into Thai territory in both Mae Sot and Mae Ramat. Myanmar's village in the Kokko special economic zone was also affected by stray rounds.
The clashes have prompted the 14th Infantry Regiment to work with Mae Ramat police and local officials to search for others displaced by the fighting. They are also coordinating with the provincial administration and private sector to help the refugees.
