Irrawaddy-Jan 18
Almost 300 Myanmar junta soldiers crossed the Indian border on Wednesday after being defeated by the Arakan Army and resistance allies.
Over 700 regime troops have crossed into India since mid-November. According to Indian media reports, around 278 soldiers entered Bandukba in Lawngtai District, Mizoram, on Wednesday evening after a clash near the Karma River along the border. The reports said the soldiers were fully armed and equipped and they spent the night at an Assam Rifles camp. The AA warned civilians on Sunday that junta personnel from the camps were fleeing and they may be armed and dangerous. It said its troops were chasing the fleeing soldiers. In early January, 104 junta soldiers abandoned the Chin Let Wa camp in Paletwa after it was overrun by the AA. They entered Mizoram and were reportedly flown by the Indian military to the Rakhine State capital, Sittwe, on January 11. In late December, 151 junta personnel fled their camp in Paletwa after it was captured by the AA and surrendered to the Mizoram police. After resistance forces seized the border town of Rihkawdar on November 13 and a military outpost in Falam, more than 70 junta soldiers entered Mizoram. India’s army chief General Manoj Pande told a press conference last Thursday that 416 junta soldiers crossed the border in November and December. Gen Pande expressed concern about border security and said the Indian military is closely monitoring developments. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/another-278-myanmar-junta-troops-flee-to-india.html
