More than 2,500 flee to Thailand as rebels clash with Myanmar army

Dec 17 (Reuters)- At least 2,500 people including hundreds of children have fled a flare-up in fighting between the Myanmar army and ethnic minority rebels and have taken refuge across the border in Thailand, Thai authorities and an aid group said.

Those displaced had poured into the Thai town of Mae Sot after fighting in the past few days between the Karen National Union (KNU) and Myanmar’s army, Somchai Kitcharoenrungroj, deputy governor of western Tak province, told a news conference.

Myanmar was plunged into turmoil when the military ousted a civilian government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, triggering protests in cities and sporadic clashes in the countryside between anti-junta militia and the army.

Somchai put the number of displaced on the Thai side of the border at 2,503. Ye Min, an official at the Aid Alliance Committee, a Thai-based Myanmar migrants group, said that total included 545 children.