Thai soldiers patrolled their border this morning as Burmese resistance groups clashed with the military junta in Myanmar.

The Royal Thai Army said it had tightened security with its troubled neighbour as civil groups continued to besiege junta-held outposts near Thailand's Tak province on April 10.

Armoured vehicles were deployed to patrol rural roads, while Thai troops were stationed near the Thai–Myanmar Friendship Bridge connecting Thailand's Mae Sot town with Myanmar's Myawaddy city.

Checkpoint officers monitored hundreds of refugees, including children and the elderly, who were crossing over to escape the conflict.

The exodus comes as fighters from the Karen National Union, Karen National Liberation Army, and People's Defence Forces raided strategic army camps in Myawaddy, which sits on a supply route with neighbouring Thailand.

The rebel groups claimed they were prevailing over the Burmese army, which reportedly suffered heavy losses as they were peppered with heavy artillery and drone attacks.

Neighbouring Thailand - also run by an unelected party spawned from disgraced former Man City owner Thaksin Shinawatra - has done little to apply pressure on the junta over its atrocities, which have been condemned as state-sponsored murder.

The Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPN) claimed this week that at least 13 political prisoners died in junta detainment in the first quarter of 2024, compared with two in the same period last year. The human rights group said that six inmates were killed by junta forces and seven died after being denied medical care

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin told Reuters this week that the country would remain neutral on the conflict - seemingly prioritising a deal that would benefit Thailand economically.

He said: 'The current regime is starting to lose some strength but even if they are losing, they have the power, they have the weapons.

'Now is a good time to open talks with Myanmar as the military regime that seized power in a 2021 coup is weakening. Maybe it's time to reach out and make a deal.'

Myanmar has fallen into civil war following the removal of democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, with a military coup in 2021.

Soldiers responded with barbaric force on protesting civilians leading to widespread condemnation and financial sanctions. Rebel groups and civilian militias around the country have since been locked in a series of ongoing clashes with the ruling military.