Newmai News Network
Aizawl | February 19
No fresh entry of refugees into Mizoram from neighbouring Myanmar has been reported so far after reported fresh arm conflicts between Myanmar Army and Rakhine based rebel group, Arakan Army (AA), a senior Mizoram police officer said on Tuesday.
Mizoram Inspector General of Police (Intelligence & Law and Order), L H Shanliana said that there is no presence of Rohingyas in Mizoram. He also said that there is no fresh entry of militants or refugees into Mizoram from Myanmar except those incidents of 2017. The police officer also said that about 230 Myanmar refugees out of 1,750 people, who entered Mizoram in November 2017, are still languishing at Hmawngbuchhuah village in Mizoram’s southernmost Lawngtlai district bordering Myanmar.
The refugees, mostly Buddhists and Christians hailing from the Zhakai tribe of Paletwa and neighbouring villages in Myanmar’s Arakan (Rakhine) state had fled their homes and entered Mizoram in November in 2017 following the crackdown launched by Myanmar Army against Arakan Army militants after 11 Myanmar Army personnel were gunned down by the militants in an ambush near the Kaladan river. Initially, they were taking refuge at makeshift camps in four villages- Zochachhuah, Laitlang, Dumzautlang and Hmawngbuchhuah in Lawngtlai district. Later, they were grouped and shifted to Hmawngbuchhua village in the Bumthlang subdivision for administrative convenience. The refugees support themselves as the Mizoram government has stopped giving relief aids after the Myanmar government declared that normalcy had returned to their villages.
L H Shanliana, meanwhile, said that though majority of the refugees have gone back to their homes in January and February last year, about 230 people from 60 families are reluctant to return for fear of reprisal as there is constant arm conflicts between Myanmar Army and the militant group.
Meanwhile, source from Lawngtlai said that at least two additional companies of Indian Army are being sent to the Indo-Myanmar border in southern Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district following fresh clashes between Myanmar Army and Arakan Army. Reports said that there have been fresh encounters between the Myanmar Army and the Rakhine based militant group along Chhimtuipui (Kaladan) river inside Myanmar near Mizoram early this month.
Meanwhile, L H Shanliana said that there is nothing to be panic as no militants have crossed the border and the security personnel are just carrying out exercise. “We have spoken to Army officials that they are carrying out a routine exercise along the Indo-Myanmar border. There are no untoward incidents,” the police officer added.
