The 2010–2012 Myanmar border clashes were a series of skirmishes between the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Armed Forces) on one side, and the DKBA-5 and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) on the other. The clashes erupted along the border with Thailand shortly after Myanmar's general election on 7 November 2010. An estimated 10,000 refugees have fled into nearby neighbouring Thailand to escape the violent conflict. There was concern that due to discontent with the elections, and speculations of electoral fraud, that the conflict could escalate into a civil war. Timeline June 2010 12 June. KNLA kill 12 troops. October 2010 1 October. Fighting erupted yesterday between Burmese troops and a breakaway Shan force only hours after a Burmese soldier died following an ambush by a Karen army. 19 October. 4,000 troops of the KNLA are now on high alert. 8–9 November 2010 The fighting started in the town of Myawaddy, in Karen State, on 8 November. The government deployed heavy artillery in the town in response to the presence of forces from the renegade DKBA brigade. The military had allegedly threatened to shoot people who refused to vote. There were also clashes near Three Pagodas Pass. It is believed at least three people were killed and twenty wounded when a Burmese Army artillery shell landed in a market in the centre of Myawaddy. At least five Thai civilians were injured when a rocket propelled grenade exploded in the town of Mae Sot, on the border between Thailand and Burma. It is estimated that at least 10,000 refugees have fled into Thailand to escape the violence. DKBA rebels took the town of Myawaddy on 9 November, and were holding it against government forces. The town was closed off, and information on further casualties remains unavailable. According to Thai sources, the Tatmadaw recaptured the majority of the town later in the evening, after an earlier battle between troops and DKBA forces. By the following morning only a few areas remained under rebel control. The Thai military, who are supervising the thousands of refugees, announced that it would send the refugees back over the border once the situation in the town had calmed down. By the middle of 9 November, reports emerged that government troops had fully retaken the town, and pushed rebel troops back into the forests. Thai Officials were preparing to start moving the estimated 15,000 refugees back over the border. Late