Myanmar Airstrike Spills Into Thailand: 17 Homes Damaged in a Mae Hong Son Border Village, Protest Letter Planned
Myanmar military aircraft dropped two 500-pound bombs late on October 31 on a Karen armed position along the Salween River in Karen State, and the blast waves and shrapnel crossed the river into Mae Sam Lap village in Sop Moei district, Mae Hong Son province, Thailand, the Bangkok Post reported on November 1. About 17 homes suffered broken windows, cracked walls and damaged ceilings, and the village health promotion hospital, a Christian church, a mosque, a Buddhist temple, a child development centre and the tambon administrative organisation's tourist services building were also damaged. Local officials reported no casualties on the Thai side.
Sop Moei district chief Khamphan Mokthai ordered local administrators and security personnel to survey the damage. On Sunday morning the Mae Sam Lap pier was unusually quiet, riverfront shops were closed and boat services suspended while residents awaited further word. Pongpipat Meebenjamas, chairman of the Mae Sam Lap tambon administrative organisation, urged the Thai government to introduce measures to keep border residents safe and to press Myanmar to stop carrying out airstrikes near the frontier. Village headman Suparb Nuchkongkarn said Ban Huai Kong Kad School has been designated an emergency safe area, three sites have been prepared for people fleeing across the border, and security authorities are preparing a formal protest letter to Myanmar over the incident.
Mae Sam Lap faces Myanmar's Karen State across the Salween River. As Myanmar's civil war grinds on along the border, stray fire and airstrikes have repeatedly affected communities on the Thai side, and calls for bomb shelters in border villages are growing.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：萨尔温江湄三拉段，江对岸即缅甸克伦邦（资料图）。照片：Takeaway，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The Salween River at Mae Sam Lap, Thailand, opposite Myanmar's Karen State (file photo). Photo: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
