Mizoram: Young Mizo Association announces over Rs 3 lakh cash-aid to refugees

The Young Mizo Association (YMA) on April 17 announced to provide humanitarian assistance of Rs 3.24 lakh to refugees from both Myanmar and Bangladesh living in the state.

The decision was taken during a meeting of office bearers of the central committee of the YMA on April 17.

''Rs 3 lakh will be given to the Bangladeshi refugees living in Mizoram's Lawngtlai district near the Bangladeshi border. Rs 24,000 is to be used by the Tuipuiral Group YMA to buy 3 bundles of silpouline the refugees in the southern part of Mizoram's Myanmar border Champhai district,'' an official statement from the YMA said.

In February this year, in just the first week of 2023, 62 Kuki Chin refugees from Bangladesh had camped the Lawngtlai district of Mizoram. According to estimates, 45 refugees entered Parva-III village on January 5, bringing the overall number of Bangladeshi refugees in Mizoram to 62 as of 2023.

As per records, the combined troops of the Bangladeshi army and the Myanmarese rebel group Arakan Army (AA) attacked civilians on November 16, and the first group of 274 refugees from Chittagong, Bangladesh, landed in Mizoram on November 20, 2022.

Presently, the number stands at around 547, who all have sought refuge in Southern Mizoram since November 20 last year following the Bangladeshi military crackdown on civilians under the pretext of launching insurgency operations against KNA.

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