How a Secret Network of Volunteers is Helping Hundreds of Myanmar Police Defectors Flee to India

Over 1000 Myanmar nationals, including 280 Myanmar police personnel, have so far sneaked into Mizoram seeking refuge since late February following military coup and subsequent crackdown on pro-democracy movement in the neighbouring country.
Police personnel have said they fled Myanmar because they feared persecution after refusing to obey the military junta’s orders to shoot protesters.
Their escape – by car, motorcycle and on foot through densely forested terrain – is often guided by volunteer-led groups on both sides of the border, according to accounts from at least 10 people who are involved in the loose-knit network or have used it to cross the border. Once in India, local activists and residents provide food and shelter in safe houses, according to a report by Reuters.