Aizawl, May 20 (IANS): At least 65 more refugees, including 27 women and 24 children entered south Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district from Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) during the past two days, officials said on Monday.
Sharing photos for the story in* IANS Photo & Video News *WhatsApp group 65 more refugees from Officials in Mizoram said that the fresh refugees came to Mizoram after the ethnic troubles in CHT following the armed conflict between the Bangladesh Army and the armed ethnic outfits in the mountainous areas of the southeast region of the neighbouring country. The refugees have taken shelter at Vathuampui village and the villagers are providing food and shelter to the newly entrants refugees. With this latest arrival, the number of refugees from CHT has risen to 1,433. Earlier on May 10, 127 refugees from CHT entered Mizoram and took shelter in 6 villages. The newcomers belong to Bawm and Pang communities of tribals who called themselve Kuki-Chin tribe.
The refugees from CHT of Bangladesh first fled to Mizoram in November, 2022 after armed confrontation started between the Bangladesh Army and the ethnic armed outfits, who are fighting for a separate state for the tribal people in the CHT. Meanwhile, after the military coup in Myanmar in February 2021, over 34,350 people from the Chin state of the neighbouring country fled to Mizoram and are now staying in all the 11 districts of the state. The mountainous Mizoram shares a 510 km and 318 km unfenced border with Myanmar and Bangladesh respectively