Assam Rifles Refutes Maring Tribe Body's Allegations On Illegal Immigrants In Manipur

The Assam Rifles in a statement on Tuesday refuted allegations by a tribal group that said refugees from war-torn Myanmar have been found allegedly building houses in Manipur's Tengnoupal district without informing the state authorities.

The alleged illegal settlement was found between pillar number 82 and 89 near the border with Myanmar by volunteers, the Maring tribe group said.

The Assam Rifles, however, denied the existence of such "illegal settlements".

Some refugees have indeed taken shelter in that area due to the war-like situation in Myanmar; however, they are immediately repatriated as the security situation improves across the Indo-Myanmar border, the Assam Rifles said in the statement shared with local media.

In fact, the accommodation arrangements for the refugees consist of self-help, bare essential thatched huts with polythene covers, the Assam Rifles said, adding the state administration is fully aware of the presence of refugees in the area and has also collected their biometric data.

The Rilram Area Maring Organisation, or RAMO, had said it sent out volunteers to check their villages near border pillar numbers 82 to 89, following reports of a significant number of Myanmar refugees pouring into Maring tribe's areas in Tengnoupal district.

RAMO said they told the authorities they found a considerable presence of Myanmar refugees building houses and other structures. The areas RAMO volunteers visited were Chanringphai, Choktong, N Satang, and Sangtong villages under Lamlong Khunou circle.

Village chiefs in the area have complained they were no longer able to manage the influx of refugees from Myanmar, the RAMO volunteers said.

Manipur has been caught in an ethnic strife since May 2023 between the Kuki tribes and the Meiteis.