Myanmar military soldiers who had surrendered to the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force ride in the back of a vehicle in Loikaw, Myanmar, in this still image taken from video released November 15, 2023.
Credit: Reuters/Karenni Nationalities Defense Force
Guwahati: At least 29 Myanmar military personnel, who surrendered before Mizoram police on November 16, were sent back on Sunday by Assam Rifles, the central forces guarding the Indo-Myanmar border.
A security official in Mizoram said the Myanmar army personnel, who had fled and crossed the border when their camps were reportedly captured by a "rebel group," were taken to Moreh in Manipur, a border town, where they were handed over to Myanmar military officials. Another 45 military personnel were similarly sent back via Moreh a few days ago.
The army personnel had crossed the border and reached the Champhai district of Mizoram on November 13 following a gunfight with the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF), the armed wing of the Chin National Organisation, an organization campaigning for the restoration of democracy. The military personnel were sent back according to an order issued by the Centre , sources said.
Mizoram shares a 510km border with Myanmar.
As the military and 'rebel groups' like CNDF engaged in a gunfight in the Chin state of Myanmar, more than 6,000 Myanmar citizens had fled to Champhai in Mizoram and had taken shelter in two villages, Zokhawthar and Bulfekzawl, since November 13. Nearly 1,000 of them, however, returned to their homes after the gunfight stopped.
Sources said the 'rebel groups' captured all army camps in Rhikhawdar village in Chin state, prompting many military personnel to flee.
The fresh influx, mainly from Chin state, increased the number of Myanmar nationals taking shelter in Mizoram since 2021 to over 40,000. As the military staged a successful coup in February 2021 and launched a crackdown against the pro-democracy protesters, MPs, MLAs, and ministers belonging to the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), the party led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi started crossing the border and took shelter in Mizoram. Most of them have been provided shelter by NGOs, church bodies, and have been supported by the Mizoram government. Mizoram CM Zoramthanga even defied the Centre's directive while providing shelter to the refugees, saying the refugees share ethnic ties with the Mizos.