Zokhawthar, a quiet border village in Champhai district, has been rattled by the spillover of the conflict, as stray bullets fired during the clash hit several homes in the Indian territory.
Image Source: X/@DepinBhat
Fresh violence in Myanmar’s restive Chin State has triggered a wave of panic and displacement, with around 300 refugees fleeing to Mizoram’s Zokhawthar village after gun battles broke out between two pro-democracy insurgent groups — the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF) and the Chinland Defence Force (CDF)-Hualngoram.
Zokhawthar, a quiet border village in Champhai district, has been rattled by the spillover of the conflict, as stray bullets fired during the clash hit several homes in the Indian territory. While no injuries have been reported, the situation has left residents shaken. Local leaders have appealed for calm and restraint.
Advertisement
The Young Mizo Association (YMA), a prominent local civil society body, said the organisation has urged both sides not to point their weapons toward Zokhawthar. Stray bullets have already damaged some houses.
Advertisement
The border gate at Zokhawthar has been sealed by the Assam Rifles while security forces remain on high alert.
Meanwhile, one person reportedly drowned in the Tiau River, which separates Zokhawthar from Myanmar’s Khawmawi village, while attempting to cross into India. YMA volunteers have launched a search operation.
The latest exodus stems from armed clashes between the CNDF and CDF, both of which are ethnically Zo and share the broader aim of resisting Myanmar’s military junta.
Despite common goals, the two groups have reportedly been engaged in a turf war over territorial control in Chin State. The fierce fighting near Khawmawi, located just across the border from Zokhawthar, prompted civilians to flee in large numbers.
The Champhai district has already borne the brunt of Myanmar’s civil conflict. Since the 2021 military coup, over 33,000 refugees from Myanmar — including more than 12,000 children — have taken shelter across 11 districts in Mizoram. Zokhawthar has been one of the key transit points.
The mounting refugee crisis is not without domestic implications. Last week, Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma responded to comments by state Home Minister K Sapdanga that nearly half of the crimes in the state were being committed by Myanmar refugees.
“It is unfortunate that the actions of a few miscreants overshadow the goodwill of many law-abiding individuals,” the chief minister said. “I urge our refugee friends to honour our laws and customs,” he appealed.
Despite rising tensions and strain on the resource, local organisations such as the YMA continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the displaced. However, residents of Zokhawthar fear the implication of the further escalation of the fighting across the border.
Myanmar civil war entered a new phase after the military seized power in February 2021 after overthrowing the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. A broad alliance of ethnic armed groups and pro-democracy militias has been resisting the junta. The Chin state that borders India’s Mizoram has become one of the most volatile theatres of conflict, especially for the Zo ethnic groups which share familial, cultural, and linguistic ties with Mizos.
India, while maintaining a cautious diplomatic stance on the developments, has so far allowed Myanmar nationals fleeing conflict to enter and take shelter in the border states, with Mizoram being the most affected.
Advertisement
