19 Myanmar policemen flee to India

At least 19 Myanmar policemen fled to India, several Indian media outlets reported on Friday (March 5).

An Indian official said the cops have crossed into Champhai and Serchhip, two districts in the northeastern state of Mizoram that share a porous border with Myanmar.

All the men, who are lower-ranking policemen, were unarmed, the official said. “We are expecting more to come,” he said, citing intelligence reports.

He said the policemen had been instructed to crack down on anti-coup protesters in Myanmar. They did not want to obey that order. They have fled the country in fear of persecution for disobeying orders.

Mentionable, Myanmar army seized power through a coup on February 1. A week later, anti-coup protests erupted in the country. Though the army did not behave aggressively at the beginning of the protests, they began repression later.