151 Myanmar Soldiers Fleeing To Mizoram Set To Be Repatriated Soon

On Friday, armed pro-democracy ethnic groups took over the camps of 151 Myanmarese troops. They fled to Mizoram and were soon sent back to Myanmar, officials said on Monday.

According to a person in Aizawl, the necessary steps are being taken, such as biometric checks, and the relevant authorities are in touch with higher authorities to get permission to send the Myanmar Army people back home.

“Once the necessary steps are taken and approval is received from higher authorities, the Myanmarese soldiers will be given to the people in charge in Tamu through the Moreh border in Manipur,” an anonymous source told IANS.

Authorities say that on Friday, Myanmar troops with their weapons and ammunition ran away to Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district and approached the Assam Rifles after the Arakan Army fighters took over their camps near the border with Myanmar.

Some of the Myanmar troops who were running away were seriously hurt in the gun battle, and the Assam Rifles gave them basic medical care.

Assam Rifles are now taking care of the men at Parva in Lawngtlai.

Fighting with guns started up again last week between the Myanmar Army and the armed rebels in areas close to the Indian border. This caused more soldiers to enter Indian land. It wasn’t known yet if any Army soldiers had been killed by the pro-democracy troops’ fierce attack. Like in the past, the Indian government would send the Myanmar troops back to their country through the Moreh border in Manipur after taking care of all the necessary steps.

104 soldiers, including officers, fled to Mizoram in different stages in November after pro-democracy armed groups took over their camps near the border.

Myanmar troops have been fleeing to India in stages since November 13, after their camps in Chin state were taken over by the Chin National Defence Force, which is the armed branch of the Chin National Organization. They were flown to Moreh by the Indian Air Force and then sent back to Tamu, which is the closest town on the Myanmar side.

After the fights between Myanmar Army and CNDF cadres last month, over a thousand Myanmarese, including women and children, took refuge in Champhai and other areas in Mizoram. The district office has given the refugees food and other supplies to help them. They’ve also been given the medical help they need.

When the Military Junta took over in Myanmar in February 2021, the first group of people came from that country. Since then, more than 32,000 people from Myanmar, mostly women and children, have sought refuge in the northeastern state.

On December 16, N. Biren Singh, the chief minister of Manipur, said that about 6,000 people from Myanmar have recently sought refuge in his state because of the ongoing violence. Manipur and Mizoram both have long, unfenced borders with Myanmar. These are 518 km and 398 km, respectively.