Indo-Myanmar border fencing work in Manipur paused due to presence of bombs, 9 IEDs recovered

The Indian Army on Wednesday said it recovered nine IEDs and two bombs from a stretch along India-Myanmar border in Manipur, presence of which had stalled the ongoing work to fence the border.

The Army's help was sought after intelligence inputs suggested presence of IEDs and unexplored ordnance between border pillar 72 and 73 at Yangoubung in Tengnoupal district. The explosives were suspected to have been left behind by insurgents active along the border.

In a statement issued by a defence spokesperson in Guwahati, the Army said Red Shield Division of its Spear Corps carried out a major area sanitisation and de-mining operation on the 2.6 km stretch on Monday and Tuesday, leading to recovery of the IEDs and bombs.

The presence of the bombs forced the Survey of India and the construction agencies to halt fencing work, which was started amid the conflict involving the Meitei and the Kuki communities. The Meiteis have been demanding fencing of the border to prevent illegal migration and cross border crimes while the Kukis and Nagas are against it as many of their relatives lives on both sides of the border.

"During the operating in the dense jungle terrain under challenging security conditions, the team cleared and sanitised a corridor measuring 2.6 km × 13 m. During the operation, nine IEDs and two unexploded ordnance were destroyed thereby removing a serious threat to innocent lives. The operation also enabled Survey of India teams and construction agencies to proceed with critical border infrastructure work," the statement said.

India shares 1,634km border with Myanmar but the same has mostly remained unfenced due to the difficult terrain. Manipur (398km), Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh shares the border.