Footage shows Burmese refugees scattering in panic after fighting was heard from a camp close to the border between Myanmar and Thailand.

Thousands of terrified villagers have fled Burma amid clashes between the Myanmar military and insurgents, which had flared up again this month.

Hundreds were sheltering at a camp in Lay Kay Kaw in Karen State while waiting to move into Tak province across the border when gunfire was heard. They ran in different directions while trying to shelter.

The alarming scene came as Thai authorities said that more than 700 locals had arrived in the town of Mae Sot since December 16 when fighting erupted between the rebel group Karen National Union (KNU) and government-backed soldiers. There are now believed to be more than 2,500 Burmese refugees sheltering across the border in Thailand.

Ye Min from the rights group Aid Alliance Committee said they were ‘providing food and assistance’ to those who had fled their villages.

The conflict started in February this year when military chiefs ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Protests spread across the country as residents voiced their anger at the new regime.