India yesterday advised its citizens in Myanmar’s Rakhine State to leave immediately, citing the “deteriorating security situation” in the western state, which shares a border with India.
“Indian citizens who are already in Rakhine State are advised to leave the state immediately,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Feb. 6. It also advised it citizens not to travel to Rakhine due to the deteriorating security situation, disruption to telecom services, and severe scarcity of essential commodities.
The escalating conflict in Rakhine between the junta’s military and the Arakan Army (AA) has been widely reported by media outlets in India and has fueled concerns in New Delhi about the impact on security in two border states: Manipur and Mizoram.
“We are concerned over the deteriorating situation in Myanmar which has direct implications for us,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a media briefing this week.
India has long been advocating for the complete cessation of violence and Myanmar’s transition towards an inclusive federal democracy, he said.
The AA has been seizing junta military outposts and battalions since late last year. The junta has responded by bombing the AA, as well as civilians, from land, air and sea.
Myanmar shares a 1,020-mile (1,640-km) border with a number of states in northeastern India, including Nagaland and Manipur, where India faces insurgent groups.
In November of last year, India’s MEA released a travel advisory advising Indian citizens living in Myanmar to be cautious and avoid travel to states and regions affected by violence. It also advised its citizens to avoid traveling by road for inter-state travel.
Since the resumption of fighting in Rakhine State in November, the AA has seized about 170 junta positions, including Pauktaw Town near the state capital Sittwe, as well as all of Paletwa Township in southern Chin State.
The Arakan Army is part of the Brotherhood Alliance which launched Operation 1027 in northern Shan State on October 27 to drive the junta’s military out of the area.
