Approximately 30 Bangladeshi Nationals Seek Refuge in Mizoram Following Military Actions
Click to start listening
Aizawl, Jan 10 (NationPress) Approximately 30 tribal individuals, comprising 16 children and four women, have sought refuge in Mizoram, fleeing from the military's offensive in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), officials disclosed on Friday.
An official from the Mizoram Home Department stated that these tribal individuals, who belong to the Bawm clan of ethnic Mizos, came from two villages in CHT - Kersetlang and Pankhiang. They arrived at Hruitezawl village in Lawngtlai district over the past two days after navigating a forested hill near the Mizoram border.
Upon entering Indian territory, the Assam Rifles troops escorted them to a camp located at Tuithumhnar village, where the paramilitary force provided them with food and shelter.
As of December last year, a total of 2,014 individuals from the CHT had found refuge in Lawngtlai district, which shares an unfenced border with both Myanmar and Bangladesh. This border district is also currently home to approximately 5,930 Myanmar nationals and 84 displaced tribals from the violence-stricken region of Manipur.
Since November 2022, Bangladeshi nationals from the CHT have been seeking shelter in Lawngtlai due to reported attacks and atrocities committed by the Bangladesh army against the Kuki-Chin National Army (KNA), an ethnic insurgent group striving for a separate state for the tribal communities.
The political advisor to Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma, Lalmuanpuia Punte, who is also an MLA of the ruling Zoram People's Movement (ZPM), previously mentioned that the state government is contemplating the relocation of these Bangladeshi refugees into four designated villages within Lawngtlai district, rather than having them dispersed across various locations.
Additionally, around 7,800 refugees from the Kuki-Zo community of Manipur have also sought refuge in multiple districts of Mizoram following the outbreak of ethnic violence in their home state in May of last year. The refugees from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Manipur belong to the Kuki-Zo-Chin-Hmar-Bawm tribal community, which shares ethnic, traditional, cultural, and linguistic connections with the Mizos of Mizoram.
According to a state Home Department official, there are currently a total of 33,004 Myanmar nationals, including 12,572 children, being housed in various camps, government buildings, and rented accommodations across all 11 districts of Mizoram. These individuals sought refuge in Mizoram in phases following the military takeover in their conflict-ridden country in February 2021.
