Thailand downplays risk as Myanmar sends troops to key border town

MAE SOT, Thailand -- Thai cabinet officials insisted the security and refugee situation on their side of the border with Myanmar was under control, even as reports from the ground in Myanmar's southeastern Kayin state suggest a coming surge of regime troops to retake a key border town from ethnic resistance groups.

The sense of resurgent conflict was reinforced on Tuesday evening by news that some 150 regime troops who had barricaded themselves at a bridge linking Myanmar and Thailand had managed to retake their base outside Myawaddy.