The military launched further airstrikes in eastern Myanmar on Tuesday, two months after the junta seized power, forcing thousands of ethnic Karen to flee to Thailand and escalating violence.
The villagers who fled the weekend airstrikes returned home on their own will, according to Thailand's prime minister, who denied that his country's security forces pushed them back.
However, the situation in eastern Myanmar seemed to be becoming more threatening, not less.
The Karen National Union, the main political body representing the Karen minority, said the airstrikes were the latest breach of a cease-fire agreement by Myanmar's military, and that it would have to react.
The attacks occurred as demonstrations against the February 1 coup in Myanmar cities, which deposed an elected civilian government and reversed a decade of democratic reform in the Southeast Asian nation. Hundreds of civilians have been killed by security forces seeking to quell anti-coup demonstrations.
The US State Department ordered non-essential US diplomats and their families to leave Myanmar on Tuesday, citing the possibility that the protests will continue. The United States had previously suspended a trade agreement, imposed sanctions on junta officials, and limited business with military holding companies.
According to Saw Taw Nee, head of the KNU's foreign affairs department, Tuesday's airstrikes in eastern Myanmar killed six civilians and injured 11.
The same information on casualties was given by Dave Eubank, a member of the Free Burma Rangers, which provides medical assistance in the area.
The Karen National Union has fought for greater autonomy for the Karen people. “Military ground troops are moving into our territory from all fronts,” it said in a statement released by one of its armed units, vowing to react.
“We have no choice but to confront the unconstitutional military junta's army in order to protect our territory, our Karen people, and their right to self-determination,” said the declaration, issued in the name of the KNU office for the district that was first attacked on Saturday.
Prior to the latest air attacks, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha said that his country is prepared to shelter anyone fleeing conflict, as it has done several times in the past. His remarks came a day after humanitarian organizations reported Thailand was deporting some of the tens of thousands of refugees.
“At this time, there is no refugee influx. We asked those who had crossed into Thailand if they had encountered any issues in their region. We simply asked them to return to their land first when they said no problem. Prayuth told reporters, "We asked, we didn't use any intimidation."
He said, "We will not drive them out. How can we help them if they're fighting? But, if there isn't any war going on right now, can they go back first?”
The governor of Thailand's Mae Hong Son province, where up to 3,000 refugees sought asylum, later said that those still on Thai soil should return to their home country in a day or two.
Despite the junta's brutal crackdown, which killed more than 100 people on Saturday alone, demonstrations against it continued in many Myanmar cities on Tuesday.
Engineers, teachers, and students from the technical university in Dawei, in the south, marched peacefully.
The death of a teenager shot by soldiers while riding a motorcycle with two friends on Saturday brought the total number of protesters killed in the city to eight. According to local reports, his death was caused by "severe injuries sustained when he fell from a motorcycle."
