India to continue deporting Myanmar nationals who fled fighting

NEW DELHI

India will continue to deport Myanmar nationals who crossed into the country fleeing the ongoing ethnic conflict in Myanmar, according to officials on Saturday.

On Friday, the first batch of Myanmar nationals who had entered India “illegally” were deported, Biren Singh, the chief minister of Manipur state, said.

“The number is huge, so we cannot deport (them) all together at one time. So, part by part, we are deporting and there are some legal procedures that we need to take... we are following them (procedures),” Singh told reporters in Manipur on Saturday, adding that the deportation will continue.

Hundreds of people, including security personnel, from Myanmar, which is entangled in an internal ethnic conflict, have so far crossed into India and Bangladesh.

A total of 6,746 Myanmar nationals, who had crossed borders "illegally," have been detected in the state from May 3, 2023 to Feb. 27 this year, according to officials.

Amid the ongoing ethnic conflict in Myanmar, India decided to end the free movement arrangement between India and the southeast Asian nation.

Myanmar has been under junta rule since February 2021 and the military, locally known as Tatmadaw, has faced severe resistance from ethnic groups in many regions of the country.

At least three ethnic armed groups, which united under the so-called Brotherhood Alliance, have been fighting the junta regime to take control in the northern parts of Myanmar since late October.

The groups are attacking junta forces, which rule the Buddhist-majority southeast Asian nation, capturing many towns and junta outposts.

Many people have been reported killed during the attacks.