Mizzima 

A day following India’s Manipur government asking the Indian border-guarding force Assam Rifles to repel 718 Myanmar nationals, including 301 children, an official confirmed on Tuesday that the "illegal migrants" had not yet been repatriated to Myanmar, reports The Hindu, an Indian English-language daily newspaper. 

These Myanmar nationals had sought refuge in Manipur on July 22 and 23, fleeing the ongoing violence in Myanmar, and none of them were armed. 

According to the official, the migrants arrived from various locations along the border and were presently under the watchful eye of the Assam Rifles.  

Local residents provided them with food and other essential items.  

Their arrival in India followed a prolonged fighting between the Myanmar junta army and the resistance force People's Defence Forces (PDF) in the Chin region, spanning over 48 hours.  

India and Myanmar have a free-movement regime (FMR) within 16 km on either side of the border.  

While India permits Myanmar nationals to stay for 72 hours without a visa, Myanmar only allows a stay of up to 24 hours. The Manipur government suspended the FMR in 2020, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“In connection with similar issues in the past, the state government had clearly informed Assam Rifles, being Border Guarding Force, to take strict action to prevent the entry of Myanmar nationals into Manipur on any ground without valid visa/travel documents as per instruction of Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India,” says a statement from the Manipur Department. 

On 23 July, 28 Sector Assam Rifles penned a letter to the Indian Deputy Commissioner of Manipur's Chandel district, alerting about a recent illegal influx of Myanmar nationals along the Indo-Myanmar border in Chandel. According to the report by Assam Rifles, a total of 718 Myanmar nationals arrived at six different locations in the district over a span of two days (22-23 July) due to the ongoing clashes in western Myanmar. Among these 718 people, there were 301 children, 208 women, and 209 men. 

The India-Myanmar border stretches for 1,643 kms without a fence. To address security concerns, the Indian government had announced plans for fencing the entire border, with some sections already completed. Local authorities, including Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, have attributed the ongoing violence in the state to illegal migrants. 

Since the military coup in Myanmar in February 2021, there has been a significant influx of refugees, with over 40,000 seeking shelter in Mizoram and around 4,000 entering Manipur.