GUWAHATI: The chief minister of a province in coup-hit Myanmar is among over 9,000 people who have fled to Mizoram over the past few months.
Chief Minister of the country’s Chin State, Salai Lian Luai, crossed over the border on Monday night and was taking refuge in the remote Champhai district.
Luai is among over 20 lawmakers from the country taking shelter in the northeastern state. He is a leader of National League of Democracy which Aung San Suu Kyi leads.
The refugees include a large number of security personnel, mostly cops. Earlier, the Mizoram government had urged the Centre to view the influx of the refugees as a humanitarian crisis.
Six Mizoram districts such as Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Serchhip, Hnahthial and Saitual share 510 of the 1,643 km land border, which India shares with Myanmar.
People from Myanmar’s Chin community and the Mizos in India belong to the Zo ethnic group and they share the same ancestry. The Chin people are settled in Myanmar’s Chin State, which shares a 404 km porous border with Mizoram.