- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Hundreds of army personnel in India’s easternmost neighbour are taking fleeing the country amid intense clashes with militant groups and taking shelter in the north-eastern Indian state.
By: Shubham Ghosh
AS hundreds of Myanmarese soldiers have continued to flee to the north-eastern Indian state of Mizoram over the past few months amid a civil war in the country sparked by a military coup of 2021, the government of the state has alerted New Delhi about the development and urged it to send back the personnel back into Myanmar.
It has been reported that nearly 600 soldiers from Myanmar have crossed into India amid the country’s domestic clashes. They reportedly took refuge in the Indian state after militants from Mynamar’s Arakan Army ethnic group, which is part of the battle against the military junta rule in Myanmar, overran their camps.
Lalduhoma, chief minister of Mizoram who took office in December, had urgent talks with Indian home minister Amit Shah at the plenary session of the Northeastern Council in Shillong in the state of Meghalaya, also in the north-east, on Friday (19).
Mizoram has borders with Myanmar to its east and south running more than 500 kilometres. It also shared a 318 kilometre-long border with Bangladesh to its west.
According to a report by NDTV, government sources said Mizoram stressed on the need for a swift repatriation of the Myanmarese soldiers who have taken shelter on the Indian soil. Concerns were growing over the escalating tension in the region and the impact it could have on its stability.
After the plenary session, Lalduhoma told reporters that India are helping people who are fleeing from Myanmar to take shelter in its territory on humanitarian grounds. He added that Myanmarese soldiers who entered India earlier were used to be sent back by air. In November, India sent back 39 Myanmarese soldiers who had taken refuge in Mizoram.
The Indian government has been criticised by human rights groups in the recent past for allegedly forcing back Rohingya Muslim refugees to Myanmar, a country that they fled for facing violence and discrimination.
Meanwhile, the army rulers of Myanmar were facing a massive test since they seized power in the 2021 coup as three ethnic minority forces launched a coordinated offensive in October last year and forced soldiers to flee on many occasions.
