Deaths of 10 Myanmar resistance fighters on Indian border confirmed

The Tamu District People's Administration Organization (PAO) based in northwestern Sagaing Region confirmed on May 19 that 10 Myanmar resistance fighters had been killed on the border with India in an incident involving Indian combatants. An official of the PAO, which is affiliated with the publicly mandated National Unity Government (NUG), said the deceased were members of the NUG-commanded People’s Defense Organisation (PDO) between 18 and 34 years old who had been stationed near the border on the Myanmar side. A PDO camp near border milepost 59 in Tamu District was raided by Indian soldiers or paramilitaries on May 13 and 10 resistance members were taken captive, according to the PAO official. Indian authorities returned the damaged bodies of the slain fighters three days later, the official said, citing the results of a medical examination that concluded they had been shot at close range. “When the medical reports for all 10 came in, one of the fighters had been shot in three places: the left side of his chest, the right side, and the abdomen. Another was shot with a gun against the back of his head. Another had an entry wound from a bullet through the forehead. And another had had his arms and legs broken by gunshots,” he said. Indian officials have not responded to the statement issued by the PAO. The Indian Army claimed the 10 men had died in combat. According to a statement issued by the Indian Army’s Eastern Command on May 15, operatives had been searching the area the previous day based on intelligence about the activity of armed groups near New Samtal village in the state of Manipur’s Chandel District. The statement claimed that the armed group members had opened fire first, and that members of the Assam Rifles—a long-established paramilitary force commanded by India’s home affairs ministry—returned fire, resulting in the deaths of the ten fighters and the seizure of weapons and ammunition. According to the PAO account of the incident, a PDO unit from Tamu District had set up camp near milepost 59 on May 12. The following day, a courier delivering supplies to the camp returned and reported that he could not find the PDO members, prompting district-level resistance officials to visit the camp and investigate on May 14. “When we entered the hut and looked around, the bedrolls hadn’t been set out yet and were still folded,” the PAO official said. “So, they had slept there on the night of the 12th, but didn't get to sleep on the night of the 13th. We had to conclude that they were taken away on the 13th in the early evening.” The official, who believes the PDO members were tortured and killed after being forced out of their encampment, said the Indian Army’s claim about confining its military operations and law enforcement operations to Indian territory is false. He noted that New Samtal village, where the Indian Army claimed a three-hour battle took place on the morning of May 14, is located near border milepost 61, while the resistance forces’ temporary camp was near milepost 59. “It would be absolutely impossible for them to have gone from milepost 59 to 60, then from 60 to 61, to attack the Indian Army in territory where they had only been in for one night,” the PAO official said, adding, “The 10 PDO fighters did not have enough weapons or ammunition among them to take part in a three-hour firefight.” Indian media reported the Assam Rifles Spear Corps’s claims to have seized seven AK-47 rifles, four single-shot rifles, a launcher, an M4 carbine-type firearm, and ammunition during their operation. Resistance members in Tamu District, which lies on Sagaing Region’s border with the Indian state of Manipur, speculated that the killing of the 10 fighters was meant as retaliation or intimidation after resistance groups in Myanmar raised objections to India’s construction of a border fence last month. “We believe this is intended to instill fear so people won’t oppose the border fence in the future,” the PAO official said. “The arrest, torture, and killing of PDO members near the border is meant to deter others from interfering with [India’s] operations in the future.” Four states in northeastern India, including Manipur and Mizoram, share a border of more than 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) with Myanmar. The Indian government is presenting its plans to build a border fence as an effort to control illegal border crossings and address problems with drug trafficking. With border disputes taking place near mileposts 81 and 82 north of Tamu, and near mileposts 74, 75, and 76 west of the town, resistance battalions based in Tamu District have tried to prevent India from going ahead with the plan. The killings have already been reported to the NUG’s ministries of defence and home affairs, according to the PAO official. Nay Phone Latt, the spokesperson for the NUG Prime Minister’s Office, confirmed the NUG is taking steps to handle the matter. “The Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs are working together and communicating with India,” Nay Phone Latt said. “We will release a statement at an appropriate time.” Sources familiar with the military situation on the border strongly urged the NUG to resolve any disputes with India by diplomatic means. “If tensions escalate, refugees seeking shelter could face difficulties,” one source said. “The border issue should be resolved diplomatically. Otherwise, it could turn into a major conflagration.” In Tamu District, Myanmar’s military junta controls urban wards and some villages not far from Tamu’s town centre, while resistance forces maintain control over the towns of Khampat and Myothit in Tamu Township.

Deaths of 10 Myanmar resistance fighters on Indian border confirmed

The People’s Administration Organisation (PAO) of Tamu District says 10 anti-junta fighters were tortured and killed in the custody of the Indian Army, which claims the fighters died in combat

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