Security tightened along Myanmar-Manipur border

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Saturday said that security along the 364-km long Manipur-Myanmar border has been beefed up to check the possible influx of the displaced Rohingya Muslims.

In the past, some Muslims from Myanmar had entered Manipur illegally and they are now in prison.

Biren said: “The international border with Myanmar is porous and all steps have been taken to check any attempt to sneak into Manipur.”

S. Ibomcha, Superintendent of Police of Tengnoupal district bordering Myanmar, said patrolling by police and paramilitary forces has been intensified. “However, there is no report of any Rohingya Muslim being intercepted,” he said. Meanwhile, the Meitei Youth Front (MNF), a social organisation, has questioned the motive of the Muslims in demanding the release of the incarcerated Rohingya Muslims in Manipur.

It has also taken note of the statement of the Muslim organisations that they had demanded refugee status for the Rohingya Muslims. The Muslims of Myanmar and Manipur are different, it pointed out.

Some 290,000 Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh to escape the ongoing violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine since August 25, the UN office said on Saturday.

The violence erupted following an attack by a Rohingya insurgent group on police and military posts in Rakhine, leading to a violent offensive by the Myanmar Army.