Hundreds of Burmese villagers crossed the border to Thailand to flee gunfights between soldiers and rebels today.

Terrified residents swam across the Moei river bordering Thailand and Myanmar as fighting erupted between the Burmese military and a joint group of the Karen National Liberation Army and the People's Defence Force on April 5.

The battle occurred some four miles away from Thailand's Ban Huai Bong village in Tak province at around noon.

Gunshots and explosions rang out for several hours as rebel forces seized and destroyed a 'crucial' military base in the Myawaddy Township of Myanmar.

Resistance fighters withdrew after the Burmese army launched helicopter attacks.

The number of injuries and casualties on both sides is still unclear.

Amid the fighting, scores of Burmese villagers sought refuge in Thailand. Some of the evacuees were reported to have tuberculosis and had to be isolated.

After the attack, the Thai army, police, and local authorities said they have reinforced border security by deploying personnel to Tak province.

The clash comes after another skirmish along the Thai-Myanmar border last March 25.

At least 300 armed members of the Karen National Liberation Army and the People's Defence Force had battled with military troops while attacking military bases opposite Mae Sot district in Tak province. The fight lasted more than three hours, and left 'several' Burmese soldiers and one Karen fighter dead.

Fighting between the armed militias and the Burmese military has intensified amid the political turmoil in Myanmar caused by the ousting of former leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

Several months of protests erupted across Myanmar, also known as Burma, but hundreds of civilians were killed amid forceful crackdowns. The army has since regained control through ongoing intimidation and arrests but the country remains divided and rebel groups clash regularly with state soldiers.