Hundreds of Burmese refugees gather on Thai border 

Soldiers set protesters' barricades on fire in Yangon to clear the road

Credit: AFP

Hundreds of people who are trying to flee Myanmar have gathered on the Thai border, as Bangkok is reported to be preparing a site that could host tens of thousands of refugees. 

The news comes as security forces on Friday shot dead a further eight people as they struggle to contain massive opposition to a military coup. 

More than 230 people have been killed in crackdowns on protesters, who have been calling for the military to step down after they seized total control of Myanmar on Feb. 1.

Hundreds of people who have fled towns and cities are sheltering in areas controlled by ethnic insurgents on the Thai border, according to the Karen National Union, which has been fighting Myanmar’s army for decades.

Nearly 1,000 people are sheltering in the area controlled by the KNU, it said. 

Padoh Saw Taw Nee, the KNU’s head of foreign affairs, told Reuters that they included lawmakers, strike leaders, government staff, police and military deserters and doctors. 

He said a smaller number of people had sought shelter further north in a region controlled by another ethnic militia.

More than two dozen ethnic armed groups are active in Myanmar, some of which have condemned the coup and vowed to support the resistance.

Authorities in Thailand are expecting a surge of refugees and have set aside areas to shelter more than 43,000, according to plans seen by Reuters.  

The areas are in Thailand’s Mae Sot district, which is bordered by Myanmar to the west and already has tens of thousands of Burmese refugees.

Burmese refugees have also fled to India in recent weeks, with activists warning of a potential humanitarian crisis along the 1,000-mile, jungle-clad border. 

Among those fleeing to India were two Myanmar state police officers who told the Telegraph they escaped after refusing to shoot people protesting against the military junta.

Burmese policemen who fled Myanmar hold the three-finger salute in a temporary shelter at an undisclosed location in India

Credit: SAJJAD HUSSAIN /AFP

The eight people who died in Myanmar on Friday were all shot dead in the central town of Aungban. Seven died on the spot when security forces opened fire as they moved to clear a barricade that had been set up by protesters. The eighth person died later in hospital. 

Two more journalists were arrested, including a BBC Burmese reporter, according to media reports. They bring to about 40 the number of journalists who have been detained since the coup. 

In total, 2,258 people have been arrested, charged or sentenced in relation to the coup as of Thursday, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners rights group.

Harrowing accounts of torture in detention have emerged from people who have been released. 

Myanmar’s envoy to the UN has said a committee of ousted lawmakers, which is attempting to reestablish the civilian government, is exploring whether it can ask the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate crimes against humanity.