Indian army operation on Myanmar border kills 10 insurgents

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — Indian Marine Commandos conduct live-fire lateral drills during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) joint drill, June 30, 2022. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Haley Fourmet Gustavsen via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service)

NEW DELHI  -  The Indian Army said at least 10 militants were killed in an operation still underway in the troubled northeastern state of Manipur, bordering Myanmar. 

The deaths came months after Reuters reported in November that Indian militant groups that sought refuge in Myanmar and fought in its civil war had begun streaming back across the border to Manipur.

"Ten cadres were neutralised and a sizeable quantity of arms and ammunition have been recovered," the army said in a post on X on Wednesday, referring to a firefight in the region.

Stability has been at risk along the shared 1,650-km (1,025-mile) border from the civil war in Myanmar after a military coup ousted an elected civilian government in February 2021. 

On the Indian side, ethnic strife in Manipur since May 2023 has led to the deaths of nearly 260, with more than 60,000 displaced.

The state of 3.2 million has been divided into two ethnic enclaves, a valley controlled by the Meiteis and the Kuki-dominated hills. 

 (Reporting by Jatindra Dash in Bhubaneswar and Tanvi Mehta; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)