‘Your People Are All Dead’: Myanmar resistance claims Indian border forces executed fleeing fighters

Ten anti-junta resistance fighters from Myanmar were killed by Indian border forces after allegedly crossing into Indian territory on May 14, marking the first such deaths at the hands of a foreign military. India claimed the deaths occurred in combat, but Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) and the Tamu District People's Defense Organization (PDO) rejected this, alleging the fighters were deliberately arrested and executed. Resistance groups and locals suggest the incident stems from ongoing border demarcation tensions and India’s fence construction along the frontier. After receiving intelligence that the Myanmar junta had learned the location of a resistance camp near the town of Khampat in Tamu Township, Tamu PDO members prepared to move to a new location to avoid military attacks. Tamu PDO is an armed group under the NUG that primarily conducts defensive rather than offensive operations against the junta. The 10 resistance fighters, aged 18 to 35, had recently relocated to a new camp near Kammagyi village, just a few hundred meters from the India-Myanmar border and about 30 miles from junta-controlled Tamu town. They chose the site for its strategic location—far enough to avoid sudden ground assaults by junta troops and close enough to the border to potentially deter airstrikes. Leaders from the Tamu PDO and other local armed groups stayed with the 10 fighters at the new camp until midday on May 12, then returned later that evening, according to a leader from the Tamu People’s Administration Organization (PAO). Questions over cause of death On May 14 at around 10am, India’s Assam Rifles, a paramilitary force based in Manipur state, India, came to greet and speak to the group through a Chin interpreter, according to a resistance source.“Your people are all dead,” one of the officials bluntly said.One of the Assam Rifle’s officials told the resistance group that the 10 men had died in a clash. A statement from the NUG issue on May 20 also confirmed that advance notice was given to Indian forces at the border for the resistance faction’s relocation to the border. Starting from May 13, about 24 hours after moving to the new camp, the Tamu PDO fighters began disappearing from sight, sources say. When a regional resistance leader visited the camp on the afternoon of May 13, he found no one at the camp, another official from Tamu District PAO. "He didn't find any PDO members, so he returned,” the source said. “He asked the people of Kammagyi village: 'Have you seen the PDF fighters?' They answered, 'No, we haven't seen them.' So he also returned home.” About 48 hours after the group relocated, around 2 pm on May 14, members of the Tamu District PAO and PDO returned to check on the new camp. But as their vehicle approached, they found it eerily quiet and deserted—no one was there to greet them. "Two motorcycles were parked. A solar panel was set up. I found a chicken. There was no one left," said one of the PDO members who went to the camp that day. Inside the tents, they found unmade bedding and cooked pots, but no members or weapons and ammunition. Since all 10 members had disappeared along with weapons and ammunition, they assumed they had been arrested and went to inquire at a nearby Indian army post. An official from Tamu District PAO told Myanmar Now that "a Major at the Indian army post said as soon as we met them, ‘the PDFs shot at us with guns. When we shot back, all 10 PDFs died.’” According to the Tamu District PAO official, an Indian military officer told them that on May 14, PDO fighters opened fire near milepost 61 along the India-Myanmar border, triggering clashes that lasted from 6:30 am to 9:30am. The officer claimed all 10 fighters were killed during the exchange. He then told the Myanmar side to return the following day, as Indian forces planned to visit the reported battle site. The NUG and Tamu District PDO rejected the Indian military officer's statements. The NUG claim the men did not die in fighting on the Indian side, but were arrested, tortured, and killed by Assam Rifles Battalion 1, Chandel District, Manipur State, under the Indian military. Those who reached the military camp near the border also supported this point and said it would have been impossible for them to all die in battle. "When we entered and examined the tents, the bedding wasn't made yet,” an official from Tamu District PAO who participated in examining the camp told Myanmar Now.“The bedsheets were still folded. The blankets were still folded. So they only slept on the night of May 12. They didn't sleep on the night of May 13. We conclude they were taken away in the early evening of the 13th. Because if they were taken at night or very early in the morning, there wouldn't have been time to pack the beds.”Although the Indian military announced that fighting occurred near border milepost 61 on the morning of May 14, no one in the area heard gunshots and there was no talk about clashes among nearby civilians. Negotiating transfer of bodies A team of Tamu district officials went to the military camp again on the morning of May 15, they were told it was inconvenient, so Tamu district officials had to return. About an hour later, Tamu officials met an Assam Rifles officer at the India-Myanmar border to request the return of the bodies. The officer told them to wait 10 minutes but didn’t return for over two hours.They came back later and were told the handover would happen at 5:30pm at Yanlinhpai village. After waiting again with no update, they asked the local village head to check—only to learn the Indian military had already left.On May 16, Myanmar officials returned to the border after being told the bodies would be handed over. But before the transfer, Indian authorities pressured them to sign an agreement accepting border fencing near New Samtal village, a local PAO official said. The bodies, transported in an Indian military vehicle, were in poor condition and couldn't be moved to another vehicle, so Indian troops crossed briefly into Myanmar to deliver them to a cemetery in Tamu District. The handover came three days after the fighters went missing. By then, the bodies were decomposed and showed signs of torture, including multiple gunshot wounds, broken limbs, and injuries consistent with execution, according to a medical examination. India’s Eastern Command said its forces launched an operation a day earlier near New Samtal village in Manipur’s Chandel District, claiming they returned fire after being attacked by armed groups—killing 10 and seizing weapons. But Myanmar resistance forces from Tamu Township disputed the account, citing key inconsistencies. They said members crossing into India never wear uniforms or carry weapons, to avoid arrest under illegal entry laws. “We’re instructed not to wear military gear or even carry black bags,” one fighter said. “We don’t go into India in uniform at all.” They also noted that while India claimed the clash happened near mileposts 61–62, their camp was located closer to milepost 59. "It's absolutely impossible to go from milepost 59 to 60, from 60 to 61 to fight the army when they'd only been in that area for a night," said the Tamu District PAO official. Moreover, since the district PDO primarily conducts defensive rather than offensive operations, they don't have the amount of weapons and ammunition that could sustain a three-hour confrontation as the Indian military claimed. "They don't have battle-capable weapons. What they have is five firearms, and seven automatic guns. Among seven automatic guns, frankly speaking, three are broken,” said a Tamu Township PAO official. “The remaining four don't have full ammunition to fire.”The weapons reportedly seized from the battle by the Indian side—an RPG launcher and an M4 type gun—were not weapons that the resistance group held, said a PAO official. Moreover, locals around New Samtal village, where the Indian military said the nearly three-hour battle occurred, heard no gunshots. Activists demand an investigation to be made by India, and for accountability for the killings. (Photo : GSCB)‘They instilled fear’ The northeastern Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Manipur share over 1,600 kilometers (1,200 miles) of border with Myanmar's western and northwestern regions of Chin State, Sagaing Region, and Kachin State. People living in the border areas of both countries were allowed free movement up to 16 kilometers across both countries without visas for over a decade. However, India restricted such movement earlier this year. India has been steadily expanding border fencing in Manipur State, with nearly six miles completed between Moreh and Myanmar’s Tamu Township. The project has sparked resistance from Myanmar’s armed groups, who oppose fencing near disputed mileposts and farmland. Tamu, a strategic border zone with heavy resistance presence, is partly controlled by anti-junta forces, while the junta and its allies hold parts of the town. As resistance groups advance to seize Tamu, India has accelerated fencing efforts. Local forces believe India’s killing of 10 resistance members may have been retaliation for their opposition. Before returning the bodies, Indian officials reportedly pressured Myanmar authorities to sign a non-objection agreement on the fencing."They instilled fear so we wouldn't object in the future," the Tamu District PAO official said. The NUG has urged India to halt border fencing until negotiations are complete. Following the recent killings, locals say fencing activity has paused. Though India has had some contact with resistance groups, it maintains close ties with the junta. At the April BIMSTEC meeting in Thailand, Prime Minister Modi met with the junta chief to discuss border security. India is also a major arms supplier to Myanmar’s military. A UN report revealed 22 Indian firms sold over $51 million in weapons, with state-owned companies among the top suppliers. Resistance forces say the cross-border killings undermine armed resistance along the frontier. "We really don't feel secure at our backs,” a resistance force fighter active in the Kalay-Kabaw region told Myanmar Now. The Indian military pressured Myanmar resistance to sign an agreement stating they would not object to border fencing before returning the bodies. (Photo: Supplied) “NUG should make special efforts to achieve military success in order to improve relations with India, and we need to build up to truly represent all ethnic groups living in this territory.” After controlling the border, Indian forces' relations with resistance forces changed significantly, so resistance fighters in the Kalay-Kabaw area pointed out that resistance forces needed to quickly capture and control Tamu town. Just as the Arakan Army (AA) captured Paletwa township at the India-Bangladesh-Myanmar tri-junction in early 2024, Chin forces have captured border towns including Rihkhawdar, where the border trade station is located. "India has always had good relations with the SAC (Myanmar junta). We've seen their relationship from before, so we don't see any particularly significant changes,” said the same resistance group member. “They (Indian authorities) also have relations with resistance forces. For this situation to completely change, we need to quickly capture and control this territory.” Resistance forces, activists, and family members are demanding that India investigate the killings and take action. "During the Spring Revolution, we hoped India would support us. Even if there's no (India’s) support, we hoped they wouldn't obstruct or sabotage us,” Chit Win Maung, an activist who actively participated in calling for the demands, told Myanmar Now. “But when such incidents happen, we feel very bad. Actually, as a neighboring country, during the post-revolution period when we should be working together, we feel bad about such incidents."In the Tamu PDF group, Cho, who lost her only son, quietly expressed her hopes."My son is lost and can't be returned,” she said. “But for the remaining comrades, I want the truth to emerge. I also want arrangements made so they don't encounter such tragedies in the future.” The 10 resistance fighters, aged 18 to 35, had recently relocated to a new camp near Kammagyi village, just a few hundred meters from the India-Myanmar border and about 30 miles from junta-controlled Tamu town. (Photo: Junta’s Ministry of Information)

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