Tensions have been reported on the Indian border after Moreh residents tried to bring back the bodies of two Indian men gunned down by a pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia from Myanmar.
The Indian border authorities prevented Tengnoupal District residents from crossing into Myanmar without permits on Wednesday.
Residents from Moreh, on the Indian side of the border, torched a police border outpost in Tamu Township, Sagaing Region, after their demands were reportedly ignored.
On Thursday the Indian police and military tightened border security and banned gatherings of five or more people and the carrying of sticks, stones and firearms without a license.
A Tamu People’s Defence Force (PDF) representative said: “Border tensions are rising. We heard the military regime will meet Indian government representatives to discuss the case.”
The two Indian men from Moreh, aged 28 and 38, were shot dead in Tamu on Tuesday afternoon while traveling to a friend’s birthday party.
They were purportedly killed in Saw Bwar ward, near Number Four High School, by a militia allied to Myanmar’s junta.
Junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun claimed on Thursday that they were killed by “terrorists”.
Two men escaped on a motorcycle after shooting the Indians, Zaw Min Tun told junta-controlled MRTV news.
He said the corpses were sent to Tamu hospital and buried on Wednesday after no one had claimed their bodies.
The Tamu PDF representative said they were killed near a Pyu Saw Htee base.
Moreh in Manipur State is adjacent to Tamu and the border is the main trading point between India and Myanmar.
No one is currently crossing between the two border towns, a Tamu resident told The Irrawaddy. “The situation is tense and difficult for us,” he said.
