151 Myanmar soldiers, who fled to Mizoram, to be repatriated soon

Aizawl: The 151 Myanmarese soldiers, who fled to Mizoram on Friday after their camps were captured by armed pro-democracy ethnic groups, would soon be repatriated to Myanmar, officials said on Monday.

An official in Aizawl said that necessary formalities, including biometric processes, are being done and the authorities concerned are in touch with the higher authorities to get clearance to repatriate the Myanmar Army personnel.

"Once the ongoing formalities are completed and clearance from the higher authorities received, the Myanmarese soldiers would be handed over to their authority in Tamu through the Moreh border in Manipur," the official, who did not want to be identified, told IANS.

According to officials, the Myanmar soldiers on Friday fled to Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district with their arms and ammunition, and approached the Assam Rifles after their camps near the India-Myanmar border were overrun by the Arakan Army fighters.

Some of the fleeing Myanmar soldiers were critically injured in the gun battle and basic medical treatment provided to them by the Assam Rifles.

The soldiers are now in the custody of Assam Rifles at Parva in Lawngtlai.

Fierce gun battles between the Myanmar Army and the armed fighters resumed last week in areas close to the Indian border leading to the fresh influx of soldiers into Indian territory. It was not yet known whether any Army soldiers were killed or not following the intense attack of the pro-democracy forces. Like earlier occasions, the Indian authorities would repatriate the Myanmar soldiers to their country through the Moreh border in Manipur after completing the necessary formalities.

In November, a total of 104 Myanmar soldiers, including officers, fled to Mizoram in different phases after their camps near the border were overrun by pro-democracy armed groups.

Since November 13, Myanmar soldiers fled to the Indian territory in different phases after their camps in Chin state were captured by the Chin National Defence Force, the armed wing of the Chin National Organisation. They were airlifted by the Indian Air Force to Moreh, from where they were repatriated to Tamu, the nearest town on the Myanmar side.

Besides soldiers, over several thousand Myanmarese, including women and children, took shelter in Mizoram's Champhai and other districts since last month following the gunfights between Myanmar Army and CNDF cadres. The district administration has provided food and relief materials to the refugees. Necessary medical aid has also been provided to them.

The first influx from Myanmar happened in February 2021 after the Military junta seized power there. Since then, over 32,000 people, including women and children, have taken shelter in the northeastern state from Myanmar.

On December 16, Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said that due to prevailing unrest around 6,000 people from Myanmar have taken shelter in his state in the recent past. Mizoram and Manipur share 518 km and 398 km unfenced borders with Myanmar, respectively