Yangon—

Residents of a Myanmar trading center fled across the border to Thailand amid explosions on Tuesday, locals told AFP, after an ethnic armed group said they had seized a key nearby military base.

Fighters from the Karen National Union (KNU) said on Saturday they had seized a military base about 10 kilometers (6 miles) west of Myawaddy and more than 600 soldiers, police officers and their families had surrendered.

Residents contacted by AFP on Tuesday said they could hear gunshots and explosions.

“Some people have fled, especially those who live around the police station,” one resident told AFP, requesting anonymity for security reasons.

“At this point we heard gunshots and explosions. We heard planes flying over.”

They said there appeared to be no Karen National Union militants in the town and a bridge connecting Myawaddy to the Thai town of Mae Sot across the border remained open.

“I heard two explosions,” another Myawaddy resident told AFP, also speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

“Most shops are closed today and locals are heading to Thailand.”

Myanmar mobile phone services were unavailable, they said, adding that residents were using Thai SIM cards.

The junta has not yet responded to a request for comment on the Karen National Union’s claims of surrender at the Thingannyinaung base.

AFP has asked the Karen National Union for comment.

A resident of Thingannyinaung said she fled her home after clashes weeks ago and is now taking refuge at the Thai border.

“Many IDPs now live near the rivers between Thailand and Myanmar,” she said, referring to internally displaced people.

The resident, who asked not to be named, added: “We see thousands of people from villages crossing the border every day.”

Thailand’s foreign minister said on Tuesday the country was ready to take in 100,000 people fleeing Myanmar as reports of conflict emerged.

Thailand shares a 2,400-kilometer (1,490-mile) border with Myanmar, which has been mired in civil war since a military junta overthrew an elected government in 2021.

Myawaddy sits on the Asian Highway from the Thai border to Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city.

It passes through Karen State, which is torn by decades of fighting between the military and the Karen National Union, which says it seeks autonomy for its ethnic Karen people.

Since the 2021 military coup, the Karen National Union has provided asylum to the junta’s political opponents and trained new “People’s Defense Forces” to fight to overthrow military rule.

According to the junta’s commerce ministry, Myawaddy’s trade volume exceeded $1.1 billion between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024.

The Karen State Border Guard Force, a local militia allied with the army that controls much of Myawaddy town, announced this year that it would no longer obey the junta’s orders.

Analysts said the move would further weaken the military’s position in Karen State.