UKHRUL: A fresh wave of violence in Myanmar’s Chin state has forced at least 89 people to flee into Mizoram over the past few days, as civilians escape intensified military operations in Falam township ahead of the military junta’s proposed two-phase elections.
Local officials and village elders said a group of 47 people from 11 families of ‘K’ Haimual village and surrounding settlements in Myanmar’s Falam township crossed the Tiau river near Saikhumphai hamlet starting November 28. The families were moved to Vaphai village on December 2, where they are now being accommodated in the community hall.
Another group of 42 people from Hrumhrang village in Falam township has also arrived in Vaphai. They are currently staying in the Fiaratui Middle School building, though community leaders said the refugees would need to be shifted once classes resume on January 7.
The displaced residents said their villages were targeted in a series of coordinated strikes involving fighter jets, gyrocopters and drones, followed by the arrival of ground forces who ransacked homes, slaughtered livestock and burned down houses.
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“We escaped with nothing and hid in the forest before crossing into Mizoram. We have no idea what remains of our homes or belongings,” said Kham Lian Thang, one of the refugees.
Thang said he had previously lost his employment and ancestral property during an earlier military assault on Falam town, which forced him to seek refuge in his mother-in-law’s village of ‘K’ Haimual. “Now that place too has been destroyed, and we were left with no option but to flee to Mizoram with my mother-in-law,” he said, voicing anxiety over the future and schooling of his two young sons.
The Myanmar military has announced elections that have been widely criticised as illegitimate, with voting slated for Tedim and Hakha on Sunday (December 28) and a second round planned for Falam, Tonzang and Thantlang on January 11.
Refugees and independent observers claim the renewed military action in Chin state is intended to coerce civilians into participating in the polls and to regain control of bases earlier taken over by Chin resistance groups.
(UNI)