Weekly Analysis: Airstrikes Along Thai-Burma Border Cause Fear and Alarm

October 13, 2025

Airstrikes continue to pose an ongoing concern for the safety and security of local people. In targeted areas of the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM), such incidents are occurring frequently and causing immense uncertainty.

The situation along the Thai-Burma border became extremely tense on the morning of 8 October 2025 when junta aircraft carried out a heavy bombing raid over Thit Khee village, located opposite the Phu Nam Ron permanent checkpoint in Muang District, Kanchanaburi Province. According to local sources, a Y-12 aircraft flew over the area for nearly an hour and dropped between 27 and 30 bombs starting around 10:00 AM. The explosions hit directly on the Burma side of the frontier where Thit Khee village is situated.

The area is home to the Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 4 and allied People’s Defence Forces (PDF). While casualty figures from Myanmar remain unconfirmed, the intensity of the strikes caused widespread panic among civilians. Residents described scenes of fear as families fled toward the Thai side of the border. Many gathered at the wooden barriers near the Phu Nam Ron gate, seeking immediate refuge.

“There was no fighting when the bombing started. The plane came suddenly and dropped bombs across the village. People were terrified and ran for their lives,” said one displaced villager.

Although no injuries have been reported among Thai civilians living near the border, the incident has sparked concern over the safety of communities on both sides. Thai security agencies are now monitoring the border closely, fearing that ongoing airstrikes could force more civilians to flee.

HURFOM reports that this assault is part of a wider pattern of increasing air and ground offensives conducted by the junta in Mon State, Karen State, and the Tanintharyi Region. Civilians remain the main victims of these indiscriminate attacks, which breach international humanitarian law and underscore the urgent need for protection and humanitarian aid.

Just days earlier, on 5 October 2025, the junta launched an airstrike on Thae Chaung Gyi Village in Thayetchaung Township, Dawei District, deliberately targeting civilians in an area where no clashes were taking place. Four villagers, including a ten-year-old girl and a 91-year-old woman, were seriously wounded. The sudden attack forced the entire community to flee in fear, leaving behind their homes and belongings as the military continued its campaign of bombings, artillery strikes, and arson across Tanintharyi Region.

Residents also note that the junta has deliberately targeted civilian villages, making daily life impossible. Roads remain blocked, and food and rice supplies into Tanintharyi are cut off, leaving families hungry and unprotected.

“This is not merely fighting resistance forces; it is a calculated punishment of civilians. Without immediate cross-border humanitarian aid, people will face greater starvation and danger. International actors must not turn away. Cross-border assistance should be increased, and ethnic resistance groups should be supported in preparing IDP resettlement and response initiatives,” said a humanitarian aid worker from a Dawei-based CBO.

Overview of Main Cases

• Twenty Villagers, Including Children, from Kan To Remain in Junta Custody for Five Days
At least 20 residents, including children, from Kan To Village remain in junta custody after being arrested on October 3, and they have not been released as of October 7.

The arrests took place in the morning when residents were traveling by boat from Old Kan To Village to Kan To Village to buy goods. Junta soldiers intercepted the boat, forced passengers onto the shore, and ordered the boat operator to leave. Everyone on board, including children, was taken away. Families were not allowed to see or speak with them.

• Over 300 Displaced Villagers, Including Children, Suffer from Skin Disease Outbreak in Laung Lon Township
More than 300 displaced villagers, many of them children, are suffering from skin diseases and urgently need medicine in Laung Lon Township, Dawei District, Tanintharyi Region. The outbreak began around June 2024 among internally displaced persons who fled their homes after the junta attacks. It has since spread widely.

• Junta Arrests 17 Civilians in Bilin Township After Landmine Ambush
On October 1, junta troops arbitrarily arrested at least 17 civilians in Ah Luu Village, Bilin Township, Mon State, after their convoy was ambushed with landmines by resistance forces. According to local sources, at around 2:20 PM, more than 40 soldiers assigned to guard the convoy came under attack near a plywood factory.
In retaliation, the troops arrested men ranging in age from 17 to over 50, including factory workers, shopkeepers, and customers who happened to be at the site. The detainees were taken to Infantry Battalion 8 in Bilin and, as of October 2, had not been released.

• Political Prisoner Denied Treatment Dies in Dawei
A 48-year-old political prisoner, U Aung Ko Oo from Shin Motthee Village in Dawei Township, Tanintharyi Region, died in Dawei Prison on October 3 after being denied proper medical treatment, according to the Political Prisoners Network – Myanmar (PPNM).
He had been suffering from heart disease and kidney failure, conditions that worsened during his detention due to inadequate medical care. Despite being sent to the hospital several times, prison authorities failed to provide the treatment he urgently needed.