The first repatriation from Mae Sot included 20 officers, including brigadier generals, colonels, and majors, along with 20 family members.
A Junta aircraft landed at Mae Sot International Airport in Thailand, repatriating hundreds of soldiers fleeing from Myawaddy Township, and seeking temporary refuge in Thailand.
Thai social media reported that the aircraft, initially believed to be an ATR 72-600 operated by Myanmar National Airlines (MNA), arrived at Mae Sot Airport en route from Yangon.
On April 6, the Myanmar Embassy in Thailand formally requested permission from the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs to dispatch aircraft for the purpose of repatriating the soldiers stranded at the Myanmar Border with Mae Sot..
Resistance forces successfully captured the 355th, 356th, and 357th Light Infantry Battalions stationed in Thinganyinaung Village within Myawaddy District of Karen State. After that, on April 6, the Junta's last remaining 275th Battalion in Myawaddy surrendered, signaling their humiliating defeat by raising a white flag.
The KNLF/KNU and PDFs are now in charge of the administration of Myawaddy, a highly strategic border town that supervises the major trading route by land between Thailand -Myanmar with only the area of immigration controls and customs office at the frontier bridge still in the hands of junta security forces.
In response to the situation, the Junta swiftly initiated plans to evacuate its troops through Mae Sot, reliable military sources said.
According to the latest update, among the initial group of repatriates from Mae Sot, 40 individuals boarded the aircraft, consisting of 20 officers, including brigadier generals, colonels, and majors, along with 20 family members.
Since October 2023 the Junta has suffered a string of losses from 1027 offensive in northern Shan State and many defeats and military installations lost in Rakhine State,
with continuous shrinking of the coup-regime’s authority and control over its international borders with China, India, Bangladesh and now Thailand.
