Repatriation process of around 1,500 people who had taken shelter in southern Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district to Myanmar was most likely to commence from today, an official statement of the Assam Rifles said.
The statement said that “Assam Rifles has contacted all the stakeholders in repatriation including Myanmar Army, local Indian villagers, refugees as well as district administration so as to commence repatriation of refugees at the earliest”.
The Myanmarese nationals, mainly Zakhai and Khumi, began to cross the Mizoram-Myanmar border on November 25 and took shelter in four villages – Zochachhuah, Hmawngbuchhuah, Laitlang and Dumzautlang – and the number of refugees crossed 1,600 at one time.
The refugees were mainly from the border villages of Varang, Paletwa, Pakangwa and Mulaw in Myanmar’s Chin State and came to Mizoram after the Myanmar Army launched offensive against the Arakan rebels.
The Assam Rifles troops were keeping a close watch on the border areas to contain any ingress of Myanmarese insurgents in hope of a safe haven inside the Indian soil, the statement said. Lawngtlai district administration, local populace and the Assam Rifles personnel had been engaging in giving humanitarian assistance to the displaced people including food, water, other essential goods, solar lamps, other basic amenities and healthcare.