The Myanmar military on Tuesday dropped a bomb inside Indian territory during an airstrike targeting a key rebel training camp close to Mizoram’s Champhai district, an Indian official and a witness told Scroll.in.
The Myanmar military launched air strikes on Camp Victoria, the headquarters of Chin National Army, one of many ethnic armed groups in the Southeast Asian country with a history of conflict with the Myanmar Army. Camp Victoria is right across Tiau river on the India-Myanmar border, with a small bridge linking the two countries.
A resident named Maenga told Scroll.in that the bombing by the Myanmar military jets took place at 3.30 pm on Tuesday and explosions could be heard from his village in Vaphai, which is located close to the camp.
“One bomb fell into the Mizoram side...the shell landed 30 metres from the river Tiau on the Indian side,” the witness said.
A senior official in Champhai also confirmed the incident as residents of Farkawan village in the district and adjoining areas across the river could hear the bombing.
“We have heard that one shell fell into the Indian side,” the official told Scroll.in. “We are doing a spot verification to ascertain the facts. We are waiting for reports. The windshield of an Indian truck that went to collect sand from river Tiau was also found damaged by some splinter. This much we are certain.”
The incident has led to panic in the border villages. Maenga, who is also a member of Young Mizo Association, an influential community organisation, claimed that the Myanmar military again dropped bombs two more times on Wednesday.
“We are frightened and terrified now,” he said. “Many farmers and workers have been forced out of fear to stop their work...We strongly demand that India should take proactive actions to stop Myanmar military jet fighters bombing Indian soil and flying over Indian airspace as soon as possible.”
He added that five cadres of Chin National Army were killed in Tuesday’s aerial bombing.
The Indian government has not yet confirmed whether bombs were dropped on the Indian side.
Myanmar has been in chaos since the army seized power from the democratically elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung Sang Suu Kyi on February 1, 2021. Officials have responded to pro-democracy protests with brutal force, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
The Chin National Army is fighting alongside other rebel groups for restoring democracy in Myanmar.
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