Myanmar denies India killed rebels inside its territory

Indian govt denies issuing pics of soldiers involved in Myanmar operation

YANGON: Myanmar has rejected assertions that Indian armed forces entered the country earlier this week in pursuit of separatists, saying foreign fighters would never be allowed to use Myanmar territory to stage attacks.

India's junior minister for information and broadcasting, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, said India's army attacked rebels just over the border with Myanmar on Tuesday, underlining New Delhi's resolve to fight terrorism beyond the country's borders.

Indian Army strikes into the heart of militants.देश के दुश्मनों को करारा जवाब. कुशल नेतृत्व ,मज़बूत सरकार PM @narendramodi #56inchRocks

— Col Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) June 9, 2015

Hours after the strikes, Indian minister Rajyavardhan Rathore had said, “It was a much-needed decision that was taken by the prime minister. This decision was extremely bold in nature. And it involved our special forces crossing the border and going deep into another country.”

A salute to Indian Army for #ManipurRevenge strike.Massive political will displayed by our strong @PMOIndia @narendramodi @manoharparrikar

— Col Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) June 9, 2015

Read: India will strike enemies at 'place and time' of its choosing, says minister

However a statement from the presidential office in Myanmar, citing information from troops in the northwest border region, said fighting had only broken out on the Indian side.

The strike was carried out in response to the killing of 20 Indian soldiers in an ambush in Manipur last week. The Indian army said in a statement that it received intelligence that rebel forces were plotting more attacks.

Read: After Myanmar strike: Indian minister issues not-so-veiled threat to Pakistan

The statement from the Myanmar presidential office denied that any outside forces were using Myanmar as a staging ground for attacks. "Myanmar will never accept any foreign rebels using its territory and border area as a base," it said.

"Myanmar is willing to negotiate and cooperate with the Indian government to handle the problem." The statement said that India's Ambassador to Myanmar had met with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday to "explain the situation," but gave no further details.