A Myanmar junta drone targeting anti-coup fighters crashed over the border in Thailand, the kingdom鈥檚 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鈥檚 elected civilian government in 2021.
Deserting junta troops, fleeing civilian refugees and desperate economic migrants often make unsanctioned crossings of the countries鈥� 2,400 kilometre (1,500 mile) frontier.
Thailand鈥檚 military said it found the 鈥榢amikaze drone鈥� on Monday in a forest in Tak Province, 15 kilometres inside the Thai border.
鈥楴o civilians were injured or killed, and no property damage was reported,鈥� said a Tuesday night statement.
鈥業nitial 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.鈥�
The military statement said a disposal team 鈥榥eutralised the explosive materials鈥� and a 鈥榝ormal protest鈥� has been lodged about the incident through a border dialogue organisation.
Myanmar鈥檚 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 organisation Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), according to a report this month.
鈥楾he accessibility, ease of modification, and cost-effectiveness of drones enable both resistance groups and the military to achieve military objectives while minimising combat casualties,鈥� the report said.
