Myanmar junta drone crashes over Thai border

Myanmar nationals walk on the Thailand-Myanmar Friendship bridge to cross over into Thailand, towards the Tak border checkpoint in Thailand’s Mae Sot district on April 12, 2024. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

BANGKOK — A Myanmar junta drone targeting anti-coup fighters crashed over the border in Thailand, the kingdom’s military said, prompting an official rebuke over hazardous spillover from the civil war.

Western Thailand regularly suffers ramifications from the conflict that has raged in Myanmar since the military toppled the country’s elected civilian government in 2021.

Deserting junta troops, fleeing civilian refugees and desperate economic migrants often make unsanctioned crossings of the countries’ 2,400 kilometer (1,500 mile) frontier.

READ: Hundreds flee Myanmar border town to Thailand after clashes break out

Thailand’s military said it found the “kamikaze drone” on Monday in a forest in Tak Province, 15 kilometers inside the Thai border.

“No civilians were injured or killed, and no property damage was reported,” said a Tuesday night statement.

“Initial investigations suggest the drone belonged to the Myanmar military and was intended for an attack on resistance forces, but lost control and crashed on the Thai side.”

The military statement said a disposal team “neutralized the explosive materials” and a “formal protest” has been lodged about the incident through a border dialogue organization.

READ: Myanmar deploys more troops, fighter jets on Thai border to tackle ethnic rival forces

Myanmar’s junta and its myriad rebel opponents are both increasingly relying on drones to gain a strategic edge in the civil war, which has now ground on for more than four years.

Myanmar ranks third globally — behind only Ukraine and Russia — for the number of drone sorties recorded by monitor organization Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), according to a report this month.

“The accessibility, ease of modification, and cost-effectiveness of drones enable both resistance groups and the military to achieve military objectives while minimizing combat casualties,” the report said. /dl