251 Myanmar's refugees sought shelter in Mizoram after airstrikes: Official

A total of 251 Myanmarese refugees have sought shelter in Mizoram's Champhai district after the recent airstrikes on an insurgent camp by the armed forces of the neighbouring country, an official said on Wednesday.

Champhai deputy commissioner James Lalrinchhana told PTI that 251 Myanmar citizens have entered India and taken shelter in three villages in Champhai since the airstrikes on the headquarters of Chin National Army. 

The Myanmar armed forces had launched two aerial attacks targeting Camp Victoria, the military headquarters of CNA located close to the India-Myanmar border, on January 10 and 11.

Five CNA cadres, including two women, were reportedly killed in the first attack on January 10, while no casualty was reported in the second.

Although locals and some organisations claimed that bombs fell on the Indian territory as well, a report submitted by the Champhai DC to the state Home Department on January 13 stated that "one of the bombs or its shrapnel hit the Tiau River" that marks the India-Myanmar border.

The DC said 231 people have taken shelter in Farkawn village since the aerial attacks, while 17 Myanmarese were reported in Samthang village and three in Thekte village in Champhai district till Wednesday.

Altogether, 1,453 Myanmar nationals are currently taking shelter in Farkawn, 220 in Thekte and 24 in Samthang, he said.

According to the state Home Department, more than 30,400 Myanmar nationals are currently taking shelter in different parts of the state.

The government has set up 160 relief camps in eight of the 11 districts, it said.

The Myanmarese mostly come from Chin state and share ethnic ties with Mizos. They have been taking refuge in the northeastern state since February 2021 after the military junta seized power in the neighbouring country.

Mizoram shares a 510-km-long porous border with Myanmar.