Thailand denies forcing back Myanmar refugees
With belongings slung over their shoulders, cooking pot and sleeping mats about 2000 people who fled from their homes in Myanmar to neighbouring Thailand are being forced back at the border. That's according to activist groups.
Thai authorities denied this on Monday, but a local official said it was government policy for the army to block them at the border and deny access to outside aid groups.
Video obtained by Reuters showed refugees in the state of Karen boarding boats under the watch of Thai soldiers.
Reuters reporters tried to access their village but were stopped by authorities.
Thousands of people fled Myanmar over the weekend after the bloodiest crackdown on anti-coup protesters...
Fighter jets attacked villages near the border where many ethnic Karen live.
Thailand state media reported that refugees were in a safe place on the fringes of the border, but the chief of a neighbouring Thai district, told a local meeting that those fleeing should be blocked and that NGOs and the UN agency on refugees must not be allowed to have direct contact.
Then on Tuesday, more than a dozen people were allowed to cross into Thailand to receive medical treatment at a border village.
One was hit by bomb shrapnel from an air attack before fleeing into the jungle.
Overnight, another grim milestone ticked over.
More than 500 people have been killed since the military seized power on February 1st, according to activist group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
