NUG calls on India to investigate killing of Myanmar resistance fighters

Myanmar’s publicly mandated National Unity Government (NUG) has demanded that the Indian government investigate the killing last week of 10 resistance fighters by India’s Assam Rifles. The fighters, all from the Sagaing Region-based Tamu District People’s Defence Organisation (PDO), which operates under the command of the NUG, were tortured and killed in Indian custody, the group claimed. In a statement released on May 15, the Eastern Command of the Indian Army said the Assam Rifles forces—responsible for monitoring the border with Myanmar—were fired on first while responding to reports of armed groups operating near New Samtal, a village in India’s Manipur State. The PDO fighters went missing on May 14 after relocating to a temporary camp near Kammagyi, a village in Sagaing’s Tamu District located near the border. Their bodies were returned two days later with stab wounds and other evidence of torture, according to sources from the Tamu District PDO. In a statement released on Tuesday, the NUG’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the PDO members had given the Indian forces prior notice of their movements before leaving for the temporary camp. The statement also insisted that the resistance forces were killed after their arrest, and not in combat. The Tamu District PDO is normally based near Khampat, a town on the Indian border, but moved to their temporary camp near border milepost 59 in the Kammagyi area due to security concerns, sources close to the group told Myanmar Now. The first group of PDO troops arrived at the new location on May 13, but when other resistance fighters arrived at the camp the next day, they found it empty. When approached for information, Indian officials responded that there had been a clash and that all 10 had died, according to the Tamu District PDO member. In its statement, the NUG said that the resistance fighters were forced to sign a document before the Indian officials would agree to return the bodies. The document stated that the Indian army took action against the PDO fighters “because they entered Indian territory and initiated attacks,” according to the NUG statement. The NUG has demanded that the Indian government provide compensation to the victims’ families. The two sides have met to discuss the issue, but the Indian government has yet to respond to the demand, according to a person familiar with the talks. “They just said both sides should talk and meet again. They keep saying it was fighting. They said bilateral relations must not be harmed,” the source said regarding the position of Indian officials. The NUG has also called on the Indian side to temporarily suspend plans to construct a border fence until border demarcation negotiations are completed. India shares a 1,643km border with Myanmar, and the Indian government has been planning since last year to build a fence to control illegal crossings and drug trafficking from the Myanmar side. Resistance groups based in Tamu have opposed India’s border fence plan due to territorial disputes at mileposts 81 and 82 north of the town of Tamu, and mileposts 74, 75, and 76 to the west. India, which has good relations with the Myanmar junta, has in the past detained junta troops for crossing the border due to fighting in Chin State, before returning them to the Myanmar military. Tamu Township, which borders Manipur State, is a resistance stronghold. The military controls the town of Tamu and some surrounding villages, but the rest of the township is largely under NUG control.

NUG calls on India to investigate killing of Myanmar resistance fighters

Indian officials say the fighters were killed in battle, but the NUG says their bodies showed signs of torture

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