Nearly 1,390 Myanmar refugees enter Mizoram amid renewed clashes

Nearly 1,390 refugees from Myanmar have entered Mizoram in the past few days following renewed clashes between the army and civil militia groups in the neighbouring country in Southeast Asia, an official said.

The refugees, largely belonging to Myanmar's Chin state, fled to different villages of Mizoram's Champhai, Saitual, Siaha and Lunglei districts.

“We are trying to get the exact count from different districts. Villagers are providing food and shelter to the refugees,” said a senior official in Mizoram government who requested not to be named.


The development follows armed clashes between ‘Tatmadaw’, or the Myanmar military, and pro-democratic forces led by the Chin National Army (CNA).

Since the Myanmar military took over the country’s administration in a coup in February 2021, around 36,000 refugees have taken shelter in Mizoram. These refugees stay in rented houses and homes of their relatives or friends. There are around 149 relief camps across seven districts of the state.

These refugees are mostly Chin communities who share ethnic, cultural and traditional ties with the Mizos.

Six Mizoram’s districts – Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Serchhip and Saitual – share a 510-km unfenced border with Myanmar’s Chin state.

Former Mizoram government led by the Mizo National Front (MNF) had opposed the Centre's order to deport refugees from Myanmar and allowed them to take shelter in the state.

The MHA had in April last year asked the Manipur and Mizoram governments to collect biographic and biometric data of “illegal migrants” in the two states by September this year. Following the request of the Manipur government, the timeframe was later extended by a year.

Besides these two states, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, too, share an international boundary with Myanmar.