More than 3,000 people from Myanmar’s Chin state have fled to India and taken shelter in Mizoram in the past four days following fierce clashes between two ethnic groups, an official said on Sunday.
Mizoram already has more than 32,000 refugees from Myanmar.
The official said that the Myanmarese nationals, mainly from three border villages in Chin state, started entering Zokhawthar area of the northeastern state’s Champhai district since July 3.
Two anti-junta forces – Chin National Defence Force (CNDF) and Chinland Defence Force (CDF) – were engaged in a gun battle between June 28 and July 5, he said.
“The situation along the international border now is calm as firing has stopped yesterday evening,” the official, who refused to be named, told PTI.
He said that 300 more refugees entered Zokhawthar on Sunday.
Zokhawthar in Mizoram and Khawmawi in Myanmar are separated by the Tiau river, which flows along the Indo-Myanmar border.
The official said that the Indo-Myanmar border has been sealed by the Assam Rifles to prevent any untoward incident.
However, refugees from the neighbouring country intending to enter and take shelter in Mizoram are allowed to enter by the security force, he said.
The two warring sides belonging to the same Zo ethnic groups have been reportedly engaged in a power struggle to control areas particularly Khawmawi, one of the commercial hubs in Chin state and a key transit point between India and Myanmar.
Meanwhile, the central committee of the Young Mizo Association, the largest civil society organisation in Mizoram, mediated between the two sides to restore peace in the region, a leader said.
CYMA general secretary Malsawmliana said that the two organisations agreed to cease fire and settle the dispute amicably.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
