Local authorities in the north of Thailand have been holding discussions with a United Nations representative to explore ways to help 2,000 Karen refugees who have fled fighting in neighbouring Myanmar, according to Thai media reports.

Following the violence in Myanmar between the military junta and ethnic armies, a UN representative has held talks with local authorities in Mae Hong Son, which borders Myanmar, to assess how to deal with the needs of those who have fled the violence.

According to the Bangkok Post, Mae Hong Son governor Sitthichai Jindaluang says he, as well as other senior provincial officials, met with a protection officer from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to discuss ways to help provide assistance for the Karen refugees.

“The UNHCR representative was deeply concerned about the refugees and we told him that we have already provided them with temporary shelters, public health assistance, food, medicine, and other necessities.”

Thai soldiers have been deployed along the Thailand-Myanmar border. If the situation between the Karen forces and the Myanmar military escalates, then refugees will be relocated to another shelter about one or two kilometres away from the border.