Thousands flee into Thailand following Myanmar air strikes
Yangon: Thai authorities along the country's border with Myanmar are bracing on Monday for a possible influx of more ethnic Karen villagers fleeing new airstrikes by the Myanmar military.
Myanmar aircraft carried out three strikes overnight Sunday, according to Free Burma Rangers, a humanitarian relief agency that delivers medical and other assistance to villagers. The strikes severely injured one child but caused no apparent fatalities, a member of the agency said.
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha on Monday acknowledged the problems across his country's western border and said his government is preparing for a possible influx of people.
We don't want to have mass migration into our territory, but we will consider human rights, too," Prayut said.
Asked about people who have already fled into Thailand, Prayut said, We have prepared some places, but we don't want to talk about the preparation of refugee centers at the moment. We won't go that far."
About 2,500 people, including 200 students, have crossed the Salween River into northern Thailand's Mae Hong Son province, according to Burma Free Rangers. An estimated 10,000 people are believed to be displaced in Myanmar's northern Karen state, the agency said.
Video shot Sunday shows a group of villagers, including many young children, resting in a forest clearing inside Myanmar after fleeing their homes. They carried their possessions in bundles and baskets.
The bombings may have been retaliation against the Karen National Liberation Army for having attacked and captured a Myanmar government military outpost on Saturday morning. The group is fighting for greater autonomy for the Karen people.
Leaders of the resistance to last month's military coup that toppled Myanmar's elected government are seeking to have the Karen and other ethnic groups band together and join them as allies, which would add an armed element to their struggle.
According to Thoolei News, an online site that carries official information from the Karen National Union, eight government soldiers were captured in Saturday's attack and 10 were killed. The report said one Karen guerrilla died.
The airstrikes mark an escalation in the increasingly violent crackdown by the Myanmar government against opponents of the Feb. 1 military takeover.
At least 114 people across the country were killed by security forces on Saturday alone, including several children a toll that prompted a U.N. human rights expert to accuse the junta of committing mass murder and criticize the international community for not doing enough to stop it.
The U.N. Security Council is likely to hold closed consultations on the escalating situation in Myanmar, diplomats said Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of an official announcement. The council has condemned the violence and called for a restoration of democracy, but has not yet considered possible sanctions against the military, which would require support or an abstention by Myanmar's neighbor and friend China.
In Sunday's bombings, Myanmar military aircraft attacked a Karen guerrilla position in an area on the Salween River in Karen state's Mutraw district, according to workers for two humanitarian relief agencies.
Two guerrillas were killed and many more were wounded in those attacks, a member of the Free Burma Rangers said.
On Saturday night, two Myanmar military planes twice bombed Deh Bu Noh village in Mutraw district, killing at least two villagers.
The coup, which ousted the government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, reversed years of progress toward democracy after five decades of military rule. It has again made Myanmar the focus of international scrutiny as security forces have repeatedly fired into crowds of protesters.
As of Sunday, at least 459 people have been killed since the takeover, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which has tallied deaths it was able to verify. The true toll is thought to be higher.
Funerals were held in Myanmar on Monday for those who died protesting against the coup over the weekend. In Yangon, friends and family gathered to say farewell to 49-year-old Mya Khaing, who was fatally shot on Saturday.
Friends told media that he was always at the front of protests.
As his coffin was moved toward the crematorium, mourners sang a defiant song from an earlier 1988 uprising against military rule. There is no pardon for you till the end of the world, the words said of the military, calling it monsters. We will never forgive what you have done. (AP)
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PV Sindhu stranded in Dubai as flights remain suspended
New Delhi (PTI): Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu was on Saturday left stranded at Dubai airport en route to the prestigious All England Open badminton tournament, after flight operations were suspended owing to escalation of tensions in the Middle East.
The tournament is scheduled to start from next Tuesday.
Sindhu took to Instagram and posted a video showing a crowded airport with a caption: "All flights suspended until further notice.”
Later, the Indian superstar shuttler said she was safe but stuck with her team. She added that the speed at which the tensions have escalated is “terrifying”.
“It’s hard to process what’s unfolding right now. Hearing the interceptions overhead and seeing how quickly everything has escalated is honestly terrifying,” Sindhu wrote on 'X'.
“So many disturbing videos are coming to light, and this is sadly the reality of what is happening. Dubai is a city I deeply love, a place that has always felt safe and full of life, which makes this moment even harder to comprehend.
“To everyone who has been messaging and checking in, thank you, it truly means a lot. I am safe right now, stuck here with my team, and we are doing okay as the situation around the war with Iran continues to evolve,” she added.
Sindhu said that airports are chaotic with many families “stranded and waiting”.
“Airports are chaotic, with many families stranded and waiting, all of us just hoping we get past this soon. I’m sure the authorities are doing everything in their power, and like everyone here, we’re holding on to patience and hope,” she wrote.
“Moments like these remind you how fragile normal life really is. Praying for safety and peace for everyone affected.”
The US and Israel launched a major offensive on Iran on Saturday, with American President Donald Trump calling on the Iranian public to overthrow the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979.
The military strikes have led to a closure of air space in the Gulf region and caused disruption to several flights, including Emirates and Air India.
Air India cancelled all its flight to and from the Gulf region, mainly to Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Muscat, Riyadh, and Tel Aviv, Israel, the airline said in a statement posted on 'X'.
The Dubai airport too suspended all operations indefinitely due to airspace closures following missile strikes involving the US, Israel and Iran.
