MZ-REFUGEES

Repatriation of refugees to Myanmar deferred: Official
    Aizawl, Jun 15 (PTI) Southern Mizoram's Lawngtlai
district administration Saturday deferred the proposed
repatriation of over 200 refugees to Myanmar on 'humanitarian
ground', an official said.
    A team of officials, policemen, NGO leaders and Assam
Rifles authorities went to Hmawngbuchhuah village and intended
to repatriate the refugees numbering 219 people belonging to
54 families to Myanmar.
    The repatriation process was postponed due to rainfall
as also fresh identification process was being undertaken
during the visit, the official said.
    "We would have to make another arrangement at another
time to push them back," the official said, adding that using
force would not be advisable as all of them were poor people
and not involved in any illegal activities.
    Over 1,700 refugees from Paletwa and surrounding
villages in Myanmar fled the country during the later part of
November in 2017, entered Mizoram and took shelter in four
villages in Lawngtlai district along the Myanmar border areas
due to armed conflict between the Myanmar Army and the Arakan
Army (AA) militants.
    While majority of the refugees have returned to their
homeland after the Myanmar Army sanitized the area, some of
them refused to go back and settled down by constructing
houses and taking up livelihood.
    The remaining refugees claimed that though their
villages were now peaceful but it would be difficult for them
to earn livelihood.
    The refugees mainly belonged to the Rakhine community
and the local populace called them 'Zakhai'. PTI HCV
RG RG

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from a PTI feed.)