‘Everyone feels unsafe’: Border panic as Indian forces kill Myanmar rebels

Ten members of the Pa Ka Pha (PKP ), part of the People’s Defence Forces ( PDF ) killed by the Indian Army on May 14 , three were teenagers.

The exiled NUG said its cadres were “captured, tortured and summarily executed by” Indian Army personnel.

Manipur has been torn by a civil war between ethnic groups for the past two years , and Indian authorities have accused migrants from Myanmar of stoking tensions.

India 's Defence Ministry identified the killed men as cadres of the PKP.

In retaliation, they killed “ 10 individuals, wearing camouflage fatigues” and recovered seven AK-47 rifles as well as a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

A retired Indian government official, who has advised New Delhi on its Myanmar policy for a decade , pointed out the dissonance in the Indian versions.

“It cannot be both a proactive operation and retaliation”.

Since May 2023 , ongoing ethnic violence between the Meitei majority and the Kuki and Naga minority communities has killed more than 250 people and displaced thousands .

The state administration has faced allegations of exacerbating the unrest to strengthen its support among the population, which the government has denied.