Bangkok –
Military Myanmar fired warning shots at a civilian ship carrying border police Thailand. The incident occurred amid heightened tensions in the border area since Myanmar military junta in power.
As reported Reuters, Saturday (24/4/2021), the incident occurred in a part of the Salween River, which separates Thailand and Myanmar, on Thursday (22/4) local time. Thai authorities in a statement on Saturday (24/4) local time, said the incident was just a misunderstanding.
According to Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanee Sangrat, warning shots were used to signal the ships about inspection due to a lack of formal coordination methods on the part of the Salween River where the incident was located.
“It is a misunderstanding, the Thai border police patrol chartered a boat belonging to villagers to carry goods and they are not wearing uniforms,” Tanee said in his explanation.
“Myanmar checkpoints are more ships passing unchecked, so they fired warning shots into the air to signal about the inspection and now the two sides have spoken and reached an understanding with each other,” he added.
A statement from a restaurant owner in the area, Jumi (49), said that shots were fired into the water beside the boat on the Salween River. “People are very scared by this shooting and they don’t want to use their boat,” he said.
Myanmar soldiers fired warning shots near Tha Ta Fung village, Mae Hong Son province, Thailand, near where thousands of ethnic Karen people from Myanmar fled last month’s military airstrikes.
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