Ethnic Mon villagers take refuge

Ethnic Mon villagers take refuge

Mon people take refuge at a temple in Sangkhla Buri district, Kanchanaburi. (Photo by Piyarach Chongcharoen)
Mon people take refuge at a temple in Sangkhla Buri district, Kanchanaburi. (Photo by Piyarach Chongcharoen)

About 149 ethnic Mon villagers who crossed the Thai-Myanmar border into Kanchanaburi over fears of a possible new skirmish between the Myanmar military and Mon guerrillas remained on the Thai side as of yesterday.

Among the group, 26 were adult males, 59 adult females, 27 were boys and 37 were girls, said a source yesterday, adding that the initial number of Mon villagers who arrived and took refuge at Wat Song Karia Trai Nimit Wanaram temple in Sangkhla Buri district on Wednesday was 160.

Although a number of them returned to their villages on the Myanmar side on Friday, some new faces arrived later still appearing uncertain about the situation between the Myanmar soldiers and the Mon guerrillas, said the source.

A Mon man known as Lek said he was among the Mon people from Ban Bo Yipun village in Myanmar's Payatongsu district, which is just opposite tambon Nong Lu in Sangkhla Buri district, who fled into Thailand over fears of possible clashes.

He had travelled to Thailand with his wife, daughter, son and a disabled father and returned to the Myanmar village on Friday to find that the situation in the village appeared peaceful, though people still fear that fighting may erupt any time. Mr Lek lives in a house which doubles as grocery shop and is located next to a base of the Mon guerrillas.

On Wednesday, the first batch of around 100 Mon villagers from Ban Bo Yipun -- including old people, women and children -- arrived at Wat Tao Than monastery around 6pm, said a different source.

They were believed to have fled to Thailand over fears that the Myanmar soldiers would attempt to raid their village, said the source.

The arrival of these villagers prompted Thai authorities to begin preparing more shelters for additional Mon villagers in the event the situation between the Myanmar military and the Mon guerrillas worsened, said the source.

According to the same source, about 400 Myanmar soldiers had moved closer to surround Ban Bo Yipun, which raised concerns over possible clashes between the soldiers and guerrillas.

However, the situation on the Myanmar side has remained peaceful ever since.

According to another informed source, the Myanmar military carried out some movements after the Mon people flouted the military's order for them to avoid holding activities to celebrate the Mon National Day on Feb 12.

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