300 Myanmar Refugees Flee To Mizoram After 2 Chin Armed Groups Start Fighting

Some 300 refugees from Myanmar fled to Mizoram's Zokhawthar village after clashes between two Chin insurgent groups broke out in the neighbouring country, officials said.

Zokhawthar village is in Champhai district, along the India-Myanmar border.

Villagers from Chin State fled to Mizoram - where some 33,000 refugees are already living - after the two Chin groups began shooting each other, officials said.

The Assam Rifles has sealed the border gate at Zokhawthar.

Over 12,000 of the 33,000 Myanmar refugees who have taken shelter in Mizoram are children. They are living in camps across 11 districts of Mizoram.

The security forces in the area are on high alert.

The gunfights reportedly took place between Chin National Defence Force (CNDF) and Chinland Defence Force (CDF)-Hualngoram.

The CNDF and CDF operate in Chin State, and insurgents of the two groups belong to the same Zo ethnic tribes. The two outfits have been fighting over the last few days over control of the area, news agency PTI reported.

A leader of the Young Mizo Association (YMA) in Zokhawthar said the gunfight has created tension in the border village. He said the YMA has urged both groups not to point their arms towards Zokhawthar, as bullets have hit some houses in the village. No casualties have been reported, he said.

Last week, Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma had acknowledged comments by state Home Minister K Sapdanga, who said nearly half of the crimes in Mizoram were committed by refugees.

"It is unfortunate that the actions of a few miscreants overshadow the goodwill of many law-abiding individuals," the chief minister had added. "I urge our refugee friends to honour our laws and customs."