Footage shows a Burmese refugee with shrapnel wounds sustained in clashes with the Myanmar military being treated by paramedics in northern Thailand on December 27.

The injured man arrived in the town of Mae Sot in Tak province after crossing the nearby border with Karen State where helicopters were seen carrying out air strikes against rebels from the Karen Nation Union (KNU) army.

Thai medics put him on a stretcher and gave him an intravenous drip before he was taken to hospital for treatment to the gunshot wound in his left forearm which penetrated his rib cage.

The desperate situation unfolded as thousands of villagers continued to flee their homeland into Thailand amid clashes between the military and rebel groups.

Burmese Air Force Mil Mi-24 helicopters purchased from Russia have been seen flying across the area in recent days allegedly carrying out air strikes on positions held by the rebels.

More than 3,400 civilians have taken shelter in the town of Mae Sot this month, Thai authorities said. Thousands more are stranded on the Myanmar side of the border, waiting to cross.

Karen rebel forces are now calling for a ‘no-fly zone’ around the Thai border amid fears that civilians could be targeted by air strikes carried out by the army.

He said: ‘These airstrikes won’t target military bases but civilian bases as in schools, hospitals, houses and villages.’

Fighting between the armed militias and Burmese military has intensified in recent weeks amid the political turmoil in the country caused by the ousting for former leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February.

Around the country, more than 1,300 civilians are said to have been killed during military crackdowns on protests.