Aizawl: Mizoram’s influential civil society organisation Young Mizo Association (YMA) on Thursday claimed that the Myanmar Army had hit Indian territory during an aerial strike on an insurgent camp in Chin state close to the Indian border.
A local leader from a border village also claimed that a shell was dropped and exploded on Mizoram’s side by the Myanmar Army during the air strike on the military headquarters of Chin National Army (CNA), a powerful ethnic insurgent group in Myanmar’s Chin state, on Tuesday.
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However, Assam Rifles, which guards the Indo-Myanmar border, refuted the claims and said no bomb was dropped on Indian soil.
Tuipuiral group of YMA, which comprises 21 villages in Champhai district, said in a statement that one bomb fell on Mizoram’s side when the Myanmar military junta launched an aerial attack on Camp Victoria, the military headquarters of CNA.
“The bomb did not only hit the Indian soil but also partly damaged an Indian vehicle, which was collecting sand from Tiau river- the international boundary,” the organisation said.
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The group YMA also vehemently condemned the Myanmar army for flying its combat jets over India and dropping the bomb in violation of international law.
Lalramliana, village council president of Farkawn, a border village located about 9 km from the militants camp, said that the bomb exploded near Tiau river (which runs along the India-Myanmar border) on Mizoram side and damaged a truck owned by a village council member.
An official of Assam Rifles said that the bomb did not explode on the Indian side.
Champhai deputy commissioner James Lalrinchhana said that he has instructed a magistrate of the area concerned to verify the claim on Thursday.
The verification report is not known till the filing of this report.
At least five people, including two women, were killed and 15 others injured when the Myanmar military junta launched aerial strikes on Camp Victoria, on Tuesday, a CNA leader said.
The Myanmar Army also made another air strike on the militants’ camp on Wednesday and more aerial bombings are likely to take place this week, he said.
Champhai DC also said they had heard at least 8 explosions in the area where the CNA headquarters is located on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The district administration is also on high alert due to a possible influx of refugees from the neighbouring country following the aerial bombings, he said.
Mizoram, which shares a 510-km long international border with Myanmar, has been hosting thousands of people from the neighbouring country since the military junta seized power in February 2021.
The Myanmar nationals, mostly from Chin state, are provided with shelter, food and other reliefs by the state government, churches and NGOs.