Aizawl: A fresh influx of over 150 refugees from Myanmar has reached Zokhawthar village in Mizoram’s Champhai district after a devastating airstrike on Khawpuichhip village in Falam township of Chin state killed seven people, including six children, on Friday.Village leaders in Zokhawthar, speaking to TOI over phone, said the aerial bombing took place at around 3.20pm (Myanmar time) when two bombs were dropped on Khawpuichhip, a village located a few kilometres from the Mizoram-Myanmar border river Tiau.Those killed in the airstrike were identified as Lalnunfela (29) and his three sons—Lalrinzuala (5 months), Lalhuapzauva (4), Malsawmmawia (5)—along with Lalrinnunga (10), Lalhriatkima (5) and Jedidia Lalduhsaka (3). All were ethnic Mizos. An unspecified number of people, including women and children, were also injured.Leaders of the Hualngoram People’s Organisation (HPO) and Chinland Defence Force–Hualngoram said there was no presence of Chin armed groups or Myanmar junta soldiers in Khawpuichhip and no reason for an airstrike on the village. “This airstrike is another stark example of disregard for the lives of innocent civilians by the Myanmar military junta,” HPO leader Hminga told TOI over phone from Chin state. In Zokhawthar, village leaders said most of the new arrivals have moved in with relatives and friends, while others will be accommodated in government and public buildings, including community halls.Refugees have also taken shelter in Vaphai village, south of Zokhawthar, and in Saikhumphai hamlet near Vaphai at the last frontier. While the exact number entering Vaphai and Saikhumphai is yet to be determined, the village council president said at least over 20 have taken shelter in Vaphai, where more than 900 refugees are already staying.Across the border river, movement has slowed after security restrictions. A leader of the Young Mizo Association in Saikhumphai said a number of refugees attempting to cross the Tiau river have been stranded on the Myanmar side after the Assam Rifles, guarding the Mizoram-Myanmar border, disallowed the refugees crossing the international border.
