India asks citizens to leave Rakhine immediately; read the complete MEA advisory

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday asked Indian citizens in the Rakhine state of Myanmar to leave the region immediately. The MEA in its advisory cited deteriorating security situation in the troubled region. It also requested Indians to refrain from travelling to the region. 

In the last few months, the Rakhine state and several other regions of Myanmar have been in the throes of violence. Since October 2023, severe fighting has been taking place between armed ethnic groups and the ruling junta.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines junta as "a group of persons controlling a government especially after a revolutionary seizure of power." The Myanmar junta grabbed power through a coup in February 2021 and refused to recognise the elections wherein former State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) had a landslide victory. 

The violence between the two sides increased since November in the several towns of Myanmar and regions near the India-Myanmar border. Myanmar shares a 1,640-km-long border with a number of northeastern states including  Nagaland and Manipur.

The Myanmar military has been conducting airstrikes against its opponents and those carrying out an armed struggle against the ruling regime. There have also been multiple instances when Myanmarese soldiers have entered India to save themselves from the attacks of armed ethnic minorities.

In December last year, around 151 Myanmarese soldiers fled to Mizoram to escape an armed pro-democracy ethnic group after their camps were attacked by the group. In November last year, as many as 104 soldiers crossed the Indo-Myanmar border and fled to Mizoram. 

Here's what the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in its advisory: 

In view of the deteriorating security situation, disruption of means of telecommunications, including landlines, and severe scarcity of essential commodities, all Indian citizens are advised not to travel to the Rakhine state of Myanmar.

Those Indian citizens who are already in Rakhine state are advised to leave the state immediately.

India's message of peace for Myanmar

This, however, is not the first time that India has raised concerns over the situation in Myanmar and appealed for a complete cessation of violence in the country.

Last week, MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: "We are concerned over the deteriorating situation in Myanmar, which has direct implications for us."

"As a neighbouring country and friend of Myanmar, India has long been advocating for a complete cessation of violence and Myanmar's transition towards inclusive federal democracy," he added. 

Also Read: India to construct fencing along 1,643-km-long Indo-Myanmar border: Amit Shah