India detains 6 Ukrainians, 1 American suspected of training Myanmar rebels

2026.03.17 12:50 Members of ethnic rebel group Ta’ang National Liberation Army take part in a training exercise at their base camp in Myanmar’s northern Shan State. Photo: AFP Indian investigators have arrested seven foreigners – six Ukrainians and an American – on suspicion of illegally crossing into neighbouring Myanmar to train armed militia groups, the public radio broadcaster reported on Tuesday. Myanmar descended into civil war after a junta seized power in a 2021 coup, with pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic-minority armed groups fighting for control of large parts of the country. India has long been suspicious of certain Myanmar factions that have the same ethnicity as populations on the Indian side of the border, fearing a spillover of violence and unrest. On Monday, a closed court in New Delhi remanded the seven foreign nationals in custody for 11 days of interrogation after they allegedly illegally entered sensitive Mizoram state without an official permit, All India Radio (AIR) reported. Members of Ta’ang National Liberation Army receive military equipment at a graduation ceremony after getting special combat training in Myanmar’s northern Shan State. Photo: AFP The seven then allegedly passed from Mizoram into neighbouring Myanmar, where they were “training ethnic war groups … associated with insurgent groups in India”, according to AIR. They are also suspected to have illegally transported a “huge consignment of drones from Europe” into India for use in Myanmar, AIR said, without specifying the type of drones or their countries of origin. After they returned to India, officials from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested the Ukrainians in the cities of Delhi and Lucknow, and the American in Kolkata, the report said. The Indian Express newspaper reported that they had been charged with conspiring to commit terrorist acts against the Indian state, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Calls to the NIA spokesman went unan

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