More Myanmar troops flee into India amid rebel attacks

PHOTO CAPTION: Representational photo — Soldiers of Karen National Union (KNU) stand guard during the 70th anniversary of Karen National Revolution Day in Kaw Thoo Lei, Kayin state, Myanmar January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Ann Wang

(Reuters) - 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 their assaults against the ruling junta .

Earlier this week, 43 Myanmar soldiers entered India's Mizoram state 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 kms 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.

Tin Maung Swe confirmed the order while stressing that the situation in the capital, in central Myanmar, was calm.

"This is the plan to help in the event of an emergency," he told Reuters.

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

Junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun said late on Wednesday the military was facing "heavy assaults from a significant number of armed rebel soldiers" in Shan State in the northeast, Kayah State in the east and Rakhine State in the west.

Zaw Min Tun said some military positions had been evacuated and the insurgents had been using drones to drop hundreds of bombs on military posts.

"We are urgently taking measures to protect against drone bomb attacks effectively," the junta spokesperson said.

UN CONCERN

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.

The 2021 coup dashed hopes for reform and triggered a groundswell of opposition that has united pro-democracy activists in towns and cities with ethnic minority forces fighting for self-determination in hinterlands.

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 state 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 federal 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.

Myanmar's Southeast Asian neighbours have tried to encourage a peace process but the generals have largely ignored their efforts.

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres was deeply concerned by the "expansion of conflict in Myanmar" and called for all parties to protect civilians, a spokesperson said.

"The number of displaced people in Myanmar now exceeds two million," the spokesperson said.

The Arakan Army (AA) rebel group fighting for autonomy in Rakhine State said on Wednesday that dozens of police and military men had surrendered or been captured as its forces advanced.

The junta spokesperson denounced the group saying it was "destroying" Rakhine State.

Separately, a video posted on social media by anti-military forces in Kayah State, and verified by Reuters, showed wounded junta troops surrendering to insurgents, who were seen offering medical help.



(This story has been refiled to fix the word order in paragraph 1)



(Reporting by Reuters staff, Chanchinmawia in MIZORAM; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor and Krishn Kaushik; Editing by Robert Birsel and Sharon Singleton)