Burmese helicopters patrolled the Thai border as resistance groups continue to clash with junta soldiers.

Myanmar Air Force choppers were seen flying over the Second Border Checkpoint on April 20 as gunfights flared between guerilla fighters and straggling junta troops forced out of the key Burmese border town of Myawaddy.

The resistance forces besieged a bridge border crossing where the Burmese soldiers had retreated.

Thai media reported 'heavy military losses' on both sides, with the injured being rushed to the Mae Sot Hospital in Thailand.

Some 2,809 Burmese refugees had crossed into Thailand to escape the fighting. Around 1,000 of them have voluntarily returned to their homes in Myawaddy and were transported by local authorities.

Thai soldiers are still stationed at the border to tighten security.

Pro-democracy forces composed of civilians and local militias claimed they have seized the Pha Song outpost - the last remaining base in the key border town of Myawaddy - in the latest blow to Myanmar's struggling military government.

Myawaddy has long been held by the junta and serves as a vital trade corridor between Myanmar and Thailand.

Its fall comes as 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.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the military of forcibly recruiting more than 1,000 Rohingya Muslim men and boys from across Rakhine State since February.

Spokesman Shayna Bauchner said: 'It's appalling to see Myanmar's military, which has committed atrocities against the Rohingya for decades while denying them citizenship, now forcing them to fight on its behalf.

'The junta should immediately end this forced recruitment and permit Rohingya unlawfully conscripted to return home.'

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin in neighbouring Thailand had told Reuters that the country would continue to remain neutral on the conflict - despite developed countries imposing sanctions -and instead appeared to prioritise 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.

Aung San Suu Kyi has since been jailed for 33 years on politically motivated charges and is likely to die behind bars unless the army is toppled - a tragic end the politician hailed by Barack Obama as an 'inspirational icon of democracy'.