Thousands of Karen refugees fleeing the armed conflict in Myanmar are still stranded along the banks of the Salween River, with no shelter or access to food and healthcare, activists said, as they called on the Thai military to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered to the border.
Karen Peace Support Network (KSPN) revealed at an online public discussion forum last week that up to 70,000 people, or about 90% of the rural population in Myanmar's Karen state have been displaced by conflict over the past three months.
Wahkushee, a KSPN activist, said military offensives carried out by the Myanmar military -- which include heavy shelling as well as air strikes -- have destroyed many communities along the border, forcing at least 7,600 people from 43 villages to flee for their lives.
Many are hiding in the jungles, while around 5,500 people are now trying to cross the border into Thailand in search of a safe refuge, she said.
However, many have said they were pushed by Thai troops back to face danger in Myanmar. Ms Wahkushee said the military has also restricted humanitarian access to the refugees, compounding the crisis.
"Many of the refugees are pregnant women, children and the elderly, and some were injured by the fighting. They are in urgent need of food, medicine, shelter, sanitation and water," she said.
"If villagers cannot plant rice this season, the situation will become much worse."
She called on the government to provide protection and shelter for the refugees, in addition to allowing humanitarian aid to be distributed.
She also asked the international community to impose an arms embargo on Myanmar and cut off all forms of economic support for the military regime.
Sally Thompson, from The Border Consortium, said the refugee crisis in Myanmar is not just a domestic affair, but a regional issue that the international community needs to to mitigate.
The Karen refugees see Thailand as a safe haven from the prolonged armed conflicts at home, she said, as Karen State has been a battleground between the Myanmar military and ethnic armed forces for many decades.
"Over the past few months, we've seen some 4,000 people cross the Thai border, where they will be detained by the army before they are sent back to Myanmar when [the Thai army] considered it safe for them to return," she said. "However, they will cross back [into Thailand] as soon as the air strikes resume. It's like a game of ping-pong."
As aid is urgently needed, she suggested the army should lift travel restrictions to the border and let humanitarian workers bring in the food and supplies needed by the thousands of refugees. Since Thailand has good supply chains, humanitarian aid and missions can be quickly mobilised once the government gives the go-ahead.
If the international community does nothing to stop the violence in Myanmar from escalating and deliver aid, she warned, the influx of refugees could destabilise not just the Thai-Myanmar border, but the entire region.
Meanwhile, Third Army commander Lt Gen Apichet Suesat said the army does not prohibit refugees from crossing into Thailand, adding soldiers have provided food and basic supplies for the refugees during their stay on the Thai side of the border.
"We didn't send them back to danger. [The refugees] are waiting until the fighting is over, before crossing the river back home," Lt Gen Apichet said.
"We don't choose who to help either, because we welcome everyone who wants to escape the danger in Myanmar. As long as they are unarmed, we will treat them the same."
Lt Gen Apichet cited the risk of armed clashes and Covid-19 transmission as the reasons for barring access to the border, saying it isn't safe for humanitarian agencies or the press.
"Our first priority is to protect Thai citizens, but we need to ensure our neutrality in the conflict. We cannot have any sides using Thailand as their base of operations, which will put the security of Thais in jeopardy," he said.
After the coup by the Myanmar military in February, mass protests and insurgencies against the Myanmar military erupted across the country, but they were met with brutal suppression by the regime.
Many towns and communities have been transformed into battlefields, displacing thousands across Myanmar. In addition to the thousands stranded along the Thai-Myanmar border, at least 6,000 people have sought refuge in India.