Bangkok and Taipei – Armed men attacked Lao’s military positions in Bokeo province near the northern Thai border, sources at Radio Free said on Monday. A report indicates that at least five Lao soldiers were killed in current violence, which could be reprisals for a repression of drug trafficking.
The attack began on Saturday evening, when the fighters stormed and seized three of the four military outposts Lao in Phu Pha my and Ban Chiang Tong, located in the district of Pak Tha, according to the news of translet of Language Media Outlet, which quoted unnamed sources.
Suppoj Langkawira, head of the Thai border district of Wiang Kaen, confirmed the assault on RFA. He said that the fighting culminated on Sunday and had since calmed down.
“There were heavy clashes inside Laos, about 2 kilometers deep, but I don’t have many details. Thai soldiers and officials spread along the border to maintain peace,” said Supoj. He had no information on the victims.
Suppoj said his office had contacted Lao authorities, but that they had not yet received an answer.
A diplomatic source in the capital Lao Vientiane told RFA that she had confirmed the assault with “reliable sources”.
A document broadcast on social networks and examined by the FRG shows that the Boten district chief of the Province of Xayaburi of Laos published an urgent directive asking local authorities to remain on alert for potential armed conflicts at all hours. The opinion, however, has provided no other details on the situation.
At least five Lao soldiers were killed, with several other injured or trapped while the fighting entered his third day on Monday, said Transbader News. The Lao forces trying to evacuate the wounded were criticized, according to the report.
A senior officer was said to have ambushed and killed as he was trying to reach the conflict zone. A 7 -year -old girl is trapped in one of the besieged bases, according to the information service.
The communities beyond Pak Tha were cut off from supplies, reported Transbanter News.
RFA did not independently verify the details of the transhipment report.
A Thai paramilitary unit was deployed along the border. Wandering bullets would have struck the village roofs, which caused increased security and 24 -hour patrols in high -risk areas such as Pha Bong and Phu Chi Dao, said Transbader News. Thai naval patrols were also increased along the Mekong to prevent cross -border violence.
The Lao government has not commented.
The reason behind the attack would be linked to a major operation of the application of drugs in the same region, reported Transberder News.
On April 21, Lao authorities seized more than 20 million methamphetamine pills in Bokeo province after an abandoned truck charged with narcotics was discovered in the district of your Pheung. The case is considered one of the greatest lines of medication in the history of Laos.
Sources have declared to transbers news that the aggression could be an act of reprisals by unions of transnational drugs with links with armed ethnic militias.
A Thai official, who did not want to be appointed because he is not allowed to speak to the media, told RFA that the authors could be the minority of Wa of Myanmar who produce and make drug trafficking around the Golden Triangle where Laos, Thailand and Myanmar meet.
Laos has intensified its anti-drug efforts in recent years, especially in the Golden Triangle region, a notorious hub for production and drug trafficking. In 2024 alone, the Lao authorities dealt with 3,395 drugs related to drugs and arrested 5,168 people, including nearly 200 foreign nationals.
The news of the border assault has sparked a wave of sorrow and indignation on Lao social media, where users demand responses and criticize the government’s silence.
The hashtags linked to the province of Bokeo and Wiang Kaen have increased on Facebook and Tiktok, users publishing unaccompanied images of the conflict zone and crying for the loss of Lao soldiers.
Edited by Mike Firn and Stephen Wright.