A fresh group of displaced Myanmar nationals has entered Mizoram’s Champhai district amid escalating clashes between the military junta and rebel forces across Myanmar’s Chin State. The latest arrivals mark a renewed surge in cross-border movement ahead of the junta-announced elections scheduled for December 28. According to village authorities in Vaphai, 47 people from 11 families of Falam township crossed into Saikhumphai hamlet over the past few days. The first batch reached the area on Friday night, while the remaining families entered late on Monday. Initially housed in a local school building, the refugees have since been shifted to Vaphai, where they are currently taking shelter within the village community.
Local leaders reported that the families fled after heavy clashes between the Myanmar military and the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF) around Falam town and surrounding villages. The fighting, they said, followed a pattern seen in earlier waves of displacement — airstrikes using jet fighters and drones, ground offensives involving infantry units, destruction of homes, and widespread looting of property. Residents recounted that junta troops who had withdrawn from Tiddim and other areas moved into Chin State’s Sagaing division, particularly around Kalaymyo, intensifying violence across multiple townships including Tedim, Hakha and Falam. Village authorities in Vaphai said that as the conflict spreads, more civilians may attempt to flee into Mizoram in the coming days if the situation does not improve. With hostilities rising sharply after the announcement of elections, thousands in the conflict-hit areas are bracing for further instability, prompting fears of another large-scale displacement into India’s northeastern frontier.