Hundreds of refugees crossed the river border between Myanmar and Thailand on Friday after rebels fighting Myanmar’s military junta captured a strategic border town.

Some said they feared the Myanmar military would launch airstrikes after rebels captured Myawaddy. Myawaddy is a town with a population of about 200,000, across the Moai River from Mae Sot City in Thailand.

“That’s why I fled here. They can’t bomb Thailand,” said Myawaddy resident Moe Moe Thet San, who queued with dozens of others at a border checkpoint in the sweltering heat. She crossed the border with her young son.

Thailand’s foreign minister said on Friday that his government was preparing for an influx of refugees and urged Myanmar’s military junta to reduce violence.

Thailand is also working with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to revive the stalled Myanmar peace plan, said Phanpri Praxita-Nukkala.

“This is our neighboring country and we don’t want to see violence,” Paengpre told reporters after visiting Mae Sot. “We want to see them talking to each other. If they want, they can use us as a broker.”

Myawaddy was wrested from military control on Thursday by anti-junta forces led by the Karen National Union (KNU) rebel group.

Phanpre said Thailand was considering alternative trade routes in case fighting led to road closures.

A group of less than 200 junta soldiers who retreated from their base to the Thai border earlier this week remained in the area and Thai authorities had not received any requests from them to cross the border so far, Pamphuri said.

“They must put down their weapons and put on civilian clothes before we will allow them to cross the border,” he said.

A group of fewer than 200 junta soldiers who retreated from their base to the Thai border earlier this week are still in the area and Thai authorities have so far not received any requests from them to cross the border, Paan Puri said.

“They must put down their weapons and put on civilian clothes before we will allow them to cross the border,” he said.

Late on Friday, the group of junta soldiers who had taken shelter near the bridge came under attack from drones deployed by the resistance, local media reported.

Security in the area was stepped up after the attack, with armed Thai soldiers patrolling the river and blocking part of the area under one of the two bridges leading to Myawaddy, Reuters witnesses said.

Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told Myanmar media that some troops had abandoned their bases because they were accompanied by their families. Negotiations with Thailand are ongoing, he said.

It was unclear which group of junta soldiers he was referring to and he did not return a call from Reuters seeking comment.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the powerful military deposed the elected civilian government in 2021, triggering widespread protests and attempts to suppress them with force.

Long-simmering anger against the junta has morphed into a nationwide armed resistance movement that is now increasingly teaming up with established ethnic rebel groups to challenge the military in much of Myanmar.

fear of air raids

A steady stream of people fleeing Myanmar lined up at a border crossing on Friday amid heavy security on the Thai side, including vehicles mounted with machine guns, overlooking the Moai River.

Moe Moe Thet San, 39, said: “I’m afraid of the air raids. They made so much noise that my house shook.”

Analysts say the fall of Myawaddy deprived the junta of vital revenue from border trade and strengthened the strength of rebel groups as it grappled with a plummeting economy.

Dulyapak Preecharush, associate professor of Southeast Asian studies at Bangkok’s Thammasat University, said Myanmar’s military may still seek to launch a counterattack, backed by the air force, to retake the town.

“So the fighting is likely to intensify in the coming days, which is a concern,” he told Reuters.

On Thursday, Thai Prime Minister Sretha Thawisin said fighting in Myanmar should not spread into Thai airspace.

Sreeta told Reuters in an interview last week that Myanmar’s military junta was “losing strength” as he pushed for talks with the junta.

Thailand has said it remains neutral in the conflict in Myanmar and can accept up to 100,000 people displaced by the conflict in Myanmar, and has sought to engage with its neighbors, including offering aid, since Srettha came to power in August last year.