BackIndian Army strikes militants in Myanmar
Cross-border raids come days after 18 soldiers were killed in a deadly attack by separatist militants in Manipur
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New Delhi: The Indian Army on Tuesday conducted cross-border raids into Myanmar to hunt down separatist militants, signalling a new way of dealing with the problems of insurgency and terrorism.
The action came days after 18 soldiers were killed in a deadly attack on security forces in the Chandel district of Manipur.
In a carefully worded statement, the Indian Army said the raids were conducted along the India-Myanmar border.
“Early this (Tuesday) morning, the Indian Army engaged two separate groups of insurgents along the Indo-Myanmar border at two locations along the Nagaland and Manipur borders. Significant casualties have been inflicted on them. As a consequence, threats to our civilian population and security forces have been averted," the statement said.
“We are in communication with the Myanmar authorities on this matter. There is a history of close cooperation between our two militaries. We look forward to working with them to combat such terrorism," the statement said.
The statement added that the raids followed specific intelligence inputs that the guerrillas were plotting further ambushes.
However, at least two people familiar with the developments and who wished to remain unnamed said the army operation was carried out inside Myanmarese territory.
According to former army chief, General (retired) Ved Prakash Malik, Tuesday’s operation was a “big raid with the involvement of the (Indian) army and the (Indian) air force".
Mint could not independently verfiy this.
India’s North-East is home to dozens of insurgent groups, fighting for autonomy or secession. The army has been deployed in the region that borders Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan, for decades. Indian officials say militant groups have set up base in Myanmar and Bhutan, using these countries as launch pads for attacks against India.
Another person who tracks India-Myanmar relations said India had in the past “crossed the border into Myanmar to destroy militants’ camps and bases, with the Myanmar army looking the other way. This does not happen often, but it has happened. We have intelligence-sharing with Myanmar. In 1995, there was an operation where the militants were hit by the Myanmarese army and then by our army. When we crossed the border, they (Myanmarese army) looked the other way. That way there was deniability," the person said, requesting anonymity.
“The Myanmarese have acknowledged at different times that their borders with Laos and India are among the most peaceful," the person added.
According to Gen. Malik, India and Myanmar have cooperated on tackling insurgency in the past. “When I was army chief (1997-2000), I had given information about some camps they wanted to destroy in Nagaland and the Myanamarese army destroyed them," he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought better relations with India’s neighbours since coming to power. “We have seen good cooperation with Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. It is a good thing to have this kind of cooperation among countries in our neighbourhood. Then there will be no safe sanctuaries for terrorists," Gen. Malik said.
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