Aizawl : The inclement weather that has persisted since Friday has made it difficult to evacuate the 29 soldiers from Myanmar who fled to Mizoram on Thursday after their military camp in the neighboring country was overrun by forces hostile to the government, an official stated on Saturday.
An official stated that inclement weather in Mizoram acted as a barrier to the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) attempts to airlift them on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, moderate to heavy rainfall affected normal life in several northeastern states, including Mizoram, as a result of cyclonic storm “Midhili,” which was caused by a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal.
On Saturday, the sky was largely cloudy.
“The IAF helicopter was unable to fly with the soldiers from Myanmar due to inclement weather. The weather is predicted to be favorable on Sunday, at which point the soldiers from the Myanmar army will be evacuated, an anonymous official told IANS.
Lalbiakthanga Khiangte, the Inspector General of Police at Mizoram’s Headquarters, stated on Thursday night,
Following the capture of their camp at Tuibual in Chin state by the civilian armed forces, 29 additional soldiers from Myanmar, including a major and a captain, escaped to the Champhai district of Mizoram. “After the soldiers from the Myanmar Army approached the police, we gave them over to the Assam Rifles. They are currently staying at the Vaphai Assam Rifles camp and are being looked after by the paramilitary force, Khiangte told IANS.
The Myanmar soldiers had fled their camp at Tuibual in Chin state, near the India-Myanmar border along Mizoram, after it was captured by the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF), the armed wing of the Chin National Organisation (CNO).
The soldiers crossed the Tiau river to enter Mizoram and sought shelter in Indian territory.
Tiau river serves the boundary between India and Myanmar.
Earlier on November 13, forty-five Myanmar soldiers, including officers, had fled to Mizoram after the CNDF took control of two military bases in Myanmar’s Chin state and subsequently were airlifted by IAF helicopters to Manipur’s Moreh town and they were handed over to Myanmar’s military government the next day.
In addition to soldiers, about 1,400 Myanmarese, including women and children, sought refuge in Champhai, Mizoram, earlier this week after an altercation broke out between CNDF and Army cadres.
The district administration has given the refugees food and supplies for relief. Those unfortunate evacuees also received the necessary medical assistance.
Following the military junta’s takeover of power in February 2021, the first wave of immigrants from Myanmar arrived.
32,000 people from Myanmar, including women and children, have sought safety in the northeastern state since then. Most refugees reside in government buildings and relief camps, but a sizable portion of the Burmese population rents houses, and many more are housed by relatives.
The unfenced, mountainous border between Mizoram’s six districts (Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Serchhip, Hnahthial, and Saitual) and Myanmar’s Chin state spans 510 km.
The 1,643-kilometer unfenced border between India and Myanmar is guarded by the Assam Rifles, who have increased their patrolling along the route.
