ANKARA

Sixty-two Myanmar junta soldiers fled to Thailand after rebels attacked checkpoints near the Myanmar-Thailand border, local media reported on Saturday.

The soldiers crossed into Thailand's border area in search of refuge after the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), an armed ethnic group, attacked and captured their posts in Myanmar's Karen State, according to Khaosod English media outlet.

Thai forces allowed the soldiers, 11 of whom were injured, to enter the Phop Phra district of Tak province, where they were disarmed.

The soldiers reportedly claimed that the KNLA killed 18 of their colleagues during the attack.

Since 1949, the KNLA, one of Myanmar's larger insurgent armies, has been fighting for the self-determination of the Karen people, a collection of ethnic groups who have primarily lived in conflict-torn Karen State in Myanmar's south and southeast.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid