The National Unity Government (NUG) has demanded that the Indian government investigate and take action to establish the truth regarding the killing of 10 Tamu District People’s Defence Force (Tamu PDF) members by the Assam Rifles. The 10 comrades of the Tamu District People’s Defence Force (Tamu PDF) under the NUG, who had been shifted to a temporary camp near Kanmakyi village, Tamu District, Sagaing Division, on the Myanmar-India border, went missing on May 14 and the Assam Rifles handed over their bodies on May 16.
The PDF members, aged between 18 and 34, were found with injuries including stab wounds on their bodies, according to the Tamu District People’s Defence Force. The PDF in Manipur, India, which shares a border with Myanmar, On May 15, the Eastern Command of India reported that an operation was conducted on May 14 based on intelligence reports of armed groups near New Samtal village in Manipur’s Chandel district and the armed groups opened fire first, resulting in the death of 10 people, according to a statement from the Assam Rifles.
In response, the NUG Foreign Ministry issued a statement last night, saying that there was no direct fighting on the Indian side, and that the casualties were not due to a confrontation, but rather that the Assam Rifles were arrested and tortured and killed despite prior notification of the temporary camp relocation.
Since the border between the two countries is a border area, there have been previous exchanges between the Myanmar security forces and the Assam Rifles. Tamu region revolutionary forces, who are aware of the situation, also said that the Tamu district KPKF had moved to the area only a few days ago and that there had been no fighting.
The Tamu district PDFs, based near Khampat town in Sagaing Division, has been deployed to the India-Myanmar border due to the security situation. The killings took place after the temporary camp was moved to the border milepost (59) around Kammaki village on May 12. The next day (May 13) after the camp was moved, some soldiers from the Assam Rifles visited the camp, according to Tamu-based resistance forces.
The next day (May 14) in the afternoon, local resistance forces who arrived at the camp went to the Indian side to inquire about the disappearance of all the Tamu district PDF members in the camp. When the Indian officials responded that all 10 had died in a clash with them, a Tamu district PDFs member said.
Therefore, the National Unity Government demanded the return of the bodies, and some points were pressured to be signed before they were handed over, according to the statement from the National Unity Government. The agreement to sign included points such as “the fact that they entered the Indian territory and started fighting, and that they agreed not to oppose the construction of the border fence.”
The NUG has demanded that the Indian government compensate the families of the victims and temporarily halt the construction of the fence while the border demarcation is still being negotiated. The Indian government and the National Unity Government have held talks on the issue, but India has not yet responded, said a person familiar with the situation.
“They say that the two sides will talk and meet again. They say that there is a conflict. They say that the relationship between the two sides should not be affected.” The Indian government has been planning to build a fence along the 1,643-km border with Myanmar, which shares a border with four states in northeastern India, including Manipur and Mizoram, since last year to control illegal crossings and drug trafficking.
Milestones 81 and 82 north of Tamu, Milestones 74 and 75 west of Tamu, India’s plan to build a fence has been blocked by the Tamu-based rebel group due to territorial disputes in the 76s. India, which has good relations with the military coup, has held dozens of junta troops who crossed the border due to fighting in Chin State in recent years and then handed them over to the Burmese army.
Tamu Township, which borders Manipur State, is a stronghold of rebel forces. The NUG has captured Khampat and Myothit towns in Tamu Township, while the junta has established a foothold in some villages in and around Tamu Town.
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