Guwahati: With reports of aerial bombings at the People’s Defence Force (PDF) camp in Kauntong village under Tamu township of Sagaing region Thursday, the fighting in Myanmar is inching closer to the Indian border.
The location is about 4 km from Manipur, and opposite to Border Pillar 81 along the Indo-Myanmar border.
Sources in India and Myanmar said fighter jets dropped four bombs at the PDF camp around 9.40 am Thursday, resulting in three fatalities. Reportedly, at 10.15 am, two MI-35 helicopters hovered over the PDF camp, but no rounds were fired.
The People’s Defence Force — operating across townships and regions — consists of armed groups that emerged in mid-2021 since the coup in Myanmar. They are recognised by the National Unity Government (NUG), a government in exile formed in opposition to the junta.
The Myanmar government considers both NUG and PDFs “illegal and terrorist organisations”.
There are about 5,000 PDF fighters in Kalay and Tamu areas, but the groups are not fully armed, sources near the border told ThePrint. The junta is believed to be suppressing the efforts of young vigilantes in areas north of Tamu, while the PDFs in the south of the township are said to have the upper hand.
Earlier in the day, at 6.20 am, PDF members overran the Bokkan police station (Zohmun village) at the border near Manipur, 25 miles south of Tamu, and opposite Border Pillar 64. The PDF fighters displayed about 16 seized weapons and ammunition, reports said.
On Thursday afternoon, the Myanmar Army reportedly used combat helicopters to launch an attack on the PDF-1 camp near Tamu town. There were reports of intense firing, casualties and grievous injuries in the PDF camp. Videos of the aerial attacks were also posted on social media.
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Significance of Tamu and Moreh towns
The Tamu township is significant for the junta because of the informal cross-border trade that happens here.
Before the coup, a thriving income was generated through the movement of produce between the markets close to the border at Moreh (Manipur) and Tamu (Myanmar), with reportedly larger gains for unregistered traders in Myanmar.
The border town of Moreh in Tengnoupal district is considered as Manipur’s economic corridor. Every morning, hundreds of traders from the other side come to Moreh to sell a range of items — from tree beans to consumer goods.
India and Myanmar have a Free Movement Regime (FMR) that allows people living along the border to travel 16 km into each other’s territory without visa. The 1,643 km long Indo-Myanmar border remains a viable option for smugglers, traffickers, and also insurgents.
The incomplete fencing and the artificial boundary line that passes through the different tribal villages on either side has citizens of both the countries, which has made it easy for people to cross over.
The unhindered movement of people has also led to cross-border smuggling with security forces recovering huge consignments of drugs, gold, wildlife products and timber on a regular basis, mostly from Tengnoupal district.
The Assam Rifles, the oldest paramilitary force in India, is entrusted with the responsibility of guarding the Indo-Myanmar border.
The government in Manipur is taking a tough stance on the movement of refugees and asylum seekers from Myanmar, and Chief Minister N. Biren Singh also occasionally takes to social media to report the seizure of contraband and other items in the state.
On 7 March, the chief minister posted on Facebook about the seizure of Rs 55 crore worth of brown sugar in an operation conducted by Assam Rifles in Moreh in which two Myanmar nationals were also arrested.
On 19 March, Singh tweeted about the seizure of Chinese-origin Kenbo (KB125) bikes illegally procured from Myanmar. More than 30 Kenbo bikes were seized from Churachandpur, Saikul and Moreh town. “They have been used mainly for transportation of poppy seeds and drugs in the narrow and stiff terrain,” the chief minister stated in his tweet
Several Kenbo bikes illegally brought from Myanmar to be used mainly for transportation of poppy seeds and drugs in the narrow and stiff terrains have been seized.
So far, as many as 26 Kenbo bikes at Churachandpur, 4 at Saikul and more in Moreh were seized. pic.twitter.com/I6ogIw69Ll
— N.Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) March 19, 2023
On November 20 last year, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra made a two-day visit to Myanmar. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a press release had stated that he met with members of the junta and discussed security and stability in the border areas, human trafficking, and infrastructure development, among other issues.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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