Registration of 1,600 Myanmarese refugees begins in Mizoram

Registration of 1,600 Myanmarese nationals have been undertaken to ascertain the number of refugees in four villages in southern Mizoram's Lawngtlai district, deputy commissioner, Arun T said today.

The Myanmarese nationals fled their country due to clashes between the Myanmarese Army and the Arakan militants.

The deputy commissioner said officials of the district administration were keeping a close watch on the refugees and elaborate security arrangements have been made.

"We like to see that they go back once the fighting ends across the border," he said, adding, the district administration had to render assistance on humanitarian grounds.

The refugees, majority of them women and children, crossed the border an took shelter in Hmawngbuchhuah, Zochachhuah, Laitlang and Dumzautlang villages after the Myanmarese Army launched a major offensive against the Arakan militants in Myanmar's Chin State near the Mizoram border.