'Armed cadres' from Myanmar tried to disturb border fencing work: Forces tell Centre after Manipur Op

"Armed cadres" belonging to the Myanmar-based People's Defence Force illegally crossed the border and tried to disturb the Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) personnel, who were engaged in the fencing work.

Guwahati: The 10 'armed cadres' killed by Assam Rifles personnel on May 14 near the border with Myanmar in Manipur, tried to "disturb" the ongoing work to fence the Indo-Myanmar border, central security agencies have informed the Centre.

An official in a central security agency told DH that the "armed cadres" belonging to the Myanmar-based People's Defence Force (PDF), the armed wing of the National Unity Government (NUG) (a government-in-exile) illegally crossed the border and tried to disturb the Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) personnel, who were engaged in the fencing work.

The NUG was formed after the military had successfully staged a coup in 2021 and ousted the elected government led by Nobel laureate, Aung Saan Suu Kyi.

"According to intelligence inputs, they had crossed the border to disturb the fencing work being done by BRTF in Chandel. As the forces cordoned off the interior area in New Samtal village, the armed persons opened fire. Our forces retaliated and following a gunbattle, bodies of 10 armed cadres were recovered there. Several sophisticated weapons were seized," said the official.

Although the army issued a statement on May 16 stating that bodies were yet to be identified, sources told DH that the bodies were handed over to NUG officials with a "warning not to interfere" in the affairs inside India.

The Army statement said seven AK-47 rifles, one RPG launcher, one M4 rifle and four single-barrel breech-loading rifles, ammunition and others were recovered following the gunfight.

Border fencing

Manipur shares a 398-km porous border with Myanmar, where conflict is underway between the military rulers and the "pro-democracy" forces. Chandel shares a border with Chin state of Myanmar.

The incident took place amid growing protest against the Centre's decision to fence the 1,643km border with Myanmar, in Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.

The decision to fence the border was taken amid the conflict involving the Meitei and the Kuki communities in Manipur. The Meiteis had been demanding for fencing saying the open border allowed unabated "illegal migration" of Chin-Kukis from Myanmar and posed a threat to the identity of the indigenous communities in India.

Kukis, Nagas and Mizos, on the other hand, are opposed to the fencing saying this would further divide the ethnic communities living on either side of the border.