29-05-2025
Clip shows weapons captured by Burmese rebel group, not by Indian army
"The Indian army has recovered a huge cache of Chinese-made weapons and cash from militants in Manipur backed by the Congress party and China. See the proof," reads a Hindi-language X post published on May 17, 2025, referring to the opposition party often accused by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of being "pro-China" (archived link).
It shares a video showing armed men in uniforms guarding cash, rifles and ammunition laid out on the ground. The clip has been watched over 26,500 times.
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Screenshot of the false post, taken on May 26, 2025
The false post surfaced after the Indian army said it killed ten gunmen and seized a "sizeable quantity of arms and ammunition" during an operation in Manipur's Chandel district near the border with Myanmar on May 14 (archived link).
The state has been split along ethnic lines since the outbreak of deadly violence between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki community since May 2023 (archived link).
At least 260 people have been killed and tens of thousands have fled their homes in the northeastern state.
The clip also spread elsewhere on X and on Facebook, but visual evidence indicates it is from Myanmar, not India.
A using the clip's keyframes revealed a Facebook page linked to Burma National Revolution Army (BNRA) -- a rebel group in Myanmar -- shared pictures on April 11 showing the same scene (archived link).
The photos' Burmese-language caption says they were taken after the group took control of the town of Falam from the military junta.
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Screenshot comparison of the false video (L) and the photo uploaded on Facebook, with similarities highlighted by AFP
One of the men can be seen wearing BNRA's insignia at the 0:37 mark in the false video.
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Screenshot of the clip with the BNRA insignia highlighted by AFP
Burmese outlet Myanmar Now also published pictures on April 9 showing the scene with a caption saying they show weapons taken from junta forces (archived link).
Myanmar's military seized power in a 2021 coup, sparking a civil war pitting it against pro-democracy guerrillas and resurgent ethnic armed groups that have long been active in the Southeast Asian country's fringes (archived link).
