KANCHANABURI: Soldiers were guarding the border in Sangkhla Buri district on Friday to prevent any incursion into Thailand but allowing migrant workers to enter, as Myanmar troops and Mon fighters settled into an uneasy truce.
Units from the Surasi Task Force were posted to the frontier around Three Pagodas pass after Myanmar government forces and Mon soldiers clashed close to the border on Wednesday.
The border pass remained closed to Thai travellers, and local shops and tourist stalls were shut. Tourists were advised to stay away to facilitate security operations.
Soldiers allowed Myanmar nationals to cross the border for work through a single channel, but the regular passage for border trade and vehicles on Soi Kaset 1 remained closed. Troops also sealed the border opposite the Mon villages of Ban Bor Yeepun and Ban Rai Oi in Myanmar.
About 1,000 Mon residents from the two villages fled the fighting and took shelter at Wat Song Kalia and Wat Tao Than in tambon Nong Lu of Sangkhla Buri district. Local officials, Red Cross workers and health organisations were taking care of the refugees.
Most were children and elderly people, who were reported now developing illnesses brought on by the hot days and cold nights.
The confrontation between the Myanmar government and Mon sides eased off on Thursday as the gunfire stopped and they started negotiations.
The fighting reportedly began after Myanmar troops claimed that two houses near the Mon fighters' Bor Yeepun stronghold encroached into government territory.