Aizawl: At least 28 people, including 16 children, from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh have sought refuge in Mizoram, fleeing a recent military offensive.
The group of refugees, comprising five families from Kersetlang and Pankhiang villages within Bandarban district, one of the three hill districts of Bangladesh, entered Hruitezawl village in Lawngtlai district on January 7 after traversing the jungle bordering Mizoram, an official of Lawngtlai district said on Friday.
According to the official, the refugees consist of eight adult males, four females and 16 children aged between 1 and 17 years.
The Bangladesh nationals, who belonged to the Bawm clan of ethnic Mizos, were taken by the Assam Rifles to a camp near Tuithumhnar village from Hruitezawl where they were provided with food and shelter by the paramilitary force, he said.
After receiving information from the Assam Rifles, the district administration informed the state home department.
In response, the state home department instructed both the district administration and the Assam Rifles to provide shelter to the refugees on humanitarian grounds, rather than pushing them back.
The Assam Rifles handed over the Bangladeshi refugees to the village council leaders of Tuithumhnar on Thursday night.
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Lawngtlai district, bordering both Myanmar and Bangladesh, currently provides refuge to a significant number of displaced individuals. As of December last year, the district sheltered 2,014 refugees from Bangladesh.
In addition, it hosts 5,922 refugees from Myanmar and 84 internally displaced persons from Manipur.
The Mizoram government has distributed free rice to over 43,000 refugees from Myanmar, and Bangladesh, and internally displaced people (IDPs) from Manipur taking shelter in the state.
According to data submitted to the MHA by the Mizoram government for the distribution of rice, there are 43,788 refugees and internally displaced people taking shelter in the state. Of these, 33,764 are from Myanmar, 8,010 from Manipur, and 2,014 from Bangladesh.
