Thousands of refugees have crossed into India’s northeastern state of Mizoram following clashes between two anti-junta armed groups in neighbouring Myanmar, Indian authorities said on Monday.
According to a senior security official, the influx began on July 2 after fighting broke out between two rival Chin groups — the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF) and the Chinland Defence Force-Hualngoram (CDF-H) — over control of strategic areas in Myanmar’s northwestern Chin State.
The official, who requested anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media, said approximately 4,000 refugees had entered Mizoram since the conflict began.
Mizoram shares a border with areas in Myanmar controlled by Chin groups. The state has deep ethnic ties with the Chin people and has been a haven for tens of thousands of refugees since Myanmar’s military coup in 2021.
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Mizoram’s interior minister, K. Sapdanga, confirmed the new arrivals, estimating the number at around 3,000.
“The fighting is beyond our control. People have come in and on humanitarian grounds, we have to provide drinking water, food and shelter,” Sapdanga told Reuters.
As of Sunday night, authorities had documented 3,980 people in two villages — Zokhawthar and Saikhumphai — in Champhai district, according to the official.
“It is a tentative number and keeps changing. Initially, very few people had come, but as the fighting intensified and got closer to the border, more people started coming in,” the official said.
