More refugees pour into Mizoram as Myanmar army raids Chin forces

Aizawl: People from Myanmar’s Chin state continue to trickle into Mizoram following a continuous clash between Myanmar army and Chin National Defence Force (CNDF), police said on Sunday.

The official record on Sunday showed that as many as 26,663 Myanmar nationals are currently taking shelter in different parts of the state. 

Mizoram shares a 510-km long international border with Myanmar. 

The six districts in Mizoram – Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Serchhip, Hnahthial and Saitual, which share a border with the neighbouring country, altogether housed 22,098 Myanmar refugees with Champhai housing the highest at 7,810 followed by Siaha district at 6,614, the record said.

The Myanmar refugees spread across all the eleven districts and Aizawl district alone has housed 1,916, it said.

Meanwhile, the Myanmar army has raided a Chin National Defence Force (CNDF) hideout at Khawmawi village on the other side of the border near Zokhawthar village in Mizoram’s Champhai district in early Saturday. 

Zokhawthar village council president Lalmuanpuia said that the Myanmar army had launched a sudden attack on members of CNDF, who were camping at an immigration check post located in close proximity with Tuivai bridge around 4 am on Saturday, he said. 

One member of CNDF was injured in the gunfight, while two others were arrested by the Myanmar army, he said. 

Zokhawthar and Khawmawi are divided by Tuivai river, which runs along the Indo-Myanmar border. 

According to Lalmuanpuia, almost the entire village (Khawmawi) in Myanmar, which has a population of about 6,000 have already fled to Zokhawthar in Mizoram. 

With refugees from neighbouring villages of Khawmawi, more than 10,000 Myanmar nationals are now taking shelter in Zokhawthar, he said.

Two minor NSCN (IM) cadres arrested from Tinsukia railway station