More than 3,900 refugees have fled into India's Mizoram state from neighboring Myanmar following intense clashes between two anti-junta Chin armed groups in Myanmar's northwestern Chin State, Indian officials said Monday. The ongoing violence has created a fresh humanitarian crisis along the India-Myanmar border, displacing thousands and straining local resources.
The clashes, which began July 2, pit the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF) against the Chinland Defence Force-Hualngoram (CDF-H), rival militias vying for control over strategic villages in western Myanmar. According to a senior Indian security official, who requested anonymity, at least 4,000 civilians have crossed into Mizoram since fighting erupted.
Mizoram's Interior Minister K Sapdanga confirmed the mass influx, though he placed the number of new arrivals at 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, Indian authorities had registered 3,980 refugees in the border villages of Zokhawthar and Saikhumphai in Champhai district. "It is a tentative number and keeps changing," the security official said. "Initially, a very few people had come but as the fighting intensified and got closer to the border, more people started coming in."
According to local police and humanitarian groups, most of the displaced are from Myanmar's Khawmawi and Rihkhawdar villages. Heavy fighting broke out Saturday morning in Satawm, Lianhna, and Tuichirh, where CNDF forces reportedly launched an offensive at 8:30 a.m. and captured eight CDF-Hualngoram bases, including their primary camp at Tuichirh.
A representative from the Hualngoram People's Organisation confirmed their fighters retreated but did not surrender. Five injured CDF-Hualngoram members were brought to Zokhawthar for treatment, including one with a gunshot wound to the face who was later transferred to Champhai District Hospital. Local Young Mizo Association (YMA) members said two CNDF fighters also received treatment in the area.
Among the confirmed casualties is C. Lalhmuakmawia, 37, of CDF-Hualngoram, whose body was returned by the CNDF and buried in Aizawl on Sunday. He is the second confirmed death from the group, after the earlier killing of fighter Lalliandinga.
The situation further deteriorated Sunday when Chin National Army (CNA) fighters attacked a CNDF camp near Leilet village, across the border from India's Saikhumphai area, triggering another wave of displacement.
Lalmuanpuia Punte, Political Adviser to Mizoram's Chief Minister, visited Zokhawthar and crossed into Chin State to meet leaders from both factions. "The ongoing violence in Leilet has driven more people into Mizoram," he said, noting that many refugees are unwilling to return to Myanmar amid fears of renewed clashes.
