More Myanmar troops fleeing rebel attacks enter India, says report

At least 29 more Myanmar soldiers ent­ered India on Thursday fleeing an at­ta­ck by insurgents on their military base close to the Indian border, an Ind­ian police official said, as rebels step up assaults against the ruling junta.

Earlier this week, 43 Myanmar soldiers entered Mizoram after their military bases were overrun by the rebels. Nearly 40 were sent back by Indian au­t­horities through a different border crossing point a few hundred km east.

Myanmar’s military has battled ethnic minority and other insurgencies for decades but a 2021 coup has broug­ht unprecedented coordination bet­ween anti-military forces that are mounting the biggest challenge to the army in years.

The country’s military rulers have ordered all government staff and those with military experience to prepare to serve in case of emergency, Tin Maung Swe, secretary of an administrative council in the capital, Naypyitaw said on Thursday, after the junta reported “heavy assaults” in several places.

“If necessary, such a unit might be required to go out and serve for natural disasters, and security,” the junta's council said in an order.

A parallel government formed by pro-democracy politicians to oppose the military, and allied with insurgent factions has launched a “Road to Naypyitaw” campaign which it says is aimed at taking control of the capital.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the 2021 coup, when the military oust­ed a government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, ending a decade of tentative democratic reform.

The military ruled Myanmar with an iron fist for 50 years after seizing power in 1962, insisting it was the only institution capable of holding the diverse country together.

Clashes have sent refugees into all of Myanmar’s neighbours, including thousands who fled into India in rec­ent days from fighting in Chin State in the northwest. Lalmalsawma Hnamte, a police official in Mizoram’s Vamphai district, where the latest 29 Myanmar soldiers entered India from the Tuibal military base in Chin state, said the soldiers were handed over to the paramilitary border guarding force.

Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson for India’s foreign ministry, said on Thurs­day that New Delhi was “deeply concerned” about the situation along the border. He reiterated New Delhi’s position, asking for a cessation of violence and resolution of the situation through dialogue.

Western governments have re-imp­osed sanctions on the Myanmar junta in response to the coup and crackdow­ns on protests and demanded the re­lease of Suu Kyi and other pro-democracy politicians and activists.