Lay Kay Kaw
လေးကေ့ကော် | |
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Coordinates: 16°35′57″N 98°31′27″E / 16.599205000403824°N 98.52423176384484°E | |
Country | Myanmar |
State | Kayin |
District | Myawaddy |
Founded | 2015 |
Time zone | UTC+6.30 (MST) |
Lay Kay Kaw Myothit (Burmese: လေးကေ့ကော်မြို့သစ်; lit. 'Lay Kay Kaw New Town') is a town in Myawaddy Township, Kayin State in southeastern Myanmar. Nine miles in the south of Myawaddy, it is close to the border with Thailand.[1]
In recognition of the Burmese military's negotiations with Karen National Union,[2] the oldest ethnic armed organization in the country,[3] Lay Kay Kaw was built as a "town of peace"[4] in 2015.[5][6]
With the support of Nippon Foundation,[7] Lay Kay Kaw was built in 2015 as a cooperation between the then-chief minister of Kayin State, Zaw Min, and KNU's chairperson, Saw Mutu Say Poe.[8] Divided into six quarters, it has a population of more than 3000.[6] Despite administration of the Kayin State Government, the town has been controlled de facto[9] by the KNU for six years.[10]
Since February 2021, anti-coup protesters and those who joined the civil disobedience movement came to Lay Kay Kaw to evade the military.[11] After the military conducted a search in the town in 14 December,[12] clashes broke out between the military and local armed groups the next day.[13] At least 2500 local villagers[14][15] fled to Mae Sot, border town in Thailand.[16] After a shell landed in a sugarcane plantation, and a small fire broke out, Thai authorities, through Thai–Myanmar Border Committee, issued a warning that "it was prepared to retaliate if stray artillery shells landed on Thai soil",[9][17] and Thai armed forces were deployed in the border area.[18] On 20 December, KNU urged the UN and international community to establish the area as a no-fly zone.[19]
On April 21, 2024, 24 Filipinos trafficked by a Chinese scam centre in the town's Dong Feng Park were rescued by police attachés of the Philippine Embassy of Thailand with the cooperation of Thai authorities.[20]