Over 260 Myanmar Nationals Seek Refuge in Manipur. Many Myanmar nationals have entered Manipur through the state border in an illegal way to seek safety. This is the result of the civil war rage going on in Myanmar. From January 27, 2205, more than 260 Myanmar refugees have taken shelter in Manipur, India, along the Moreh border in Manipur, a defence source said on February 2, 2025. To know in detail why and how Myanmar nationals are seeking shelter in Manipur, read the complete article.
Over 260 Myanmar Nationals Seek Refuge in Manipur
Many Myanmar nationals have entered Manipur through the state border in an illegal way to seek safety. This is the result of the civil war rage going on in Myanmar. Authorities in the eastern Indian state of Manipur are alerting thousands of Myanmar nationals who left violence in the Sagaing region that they have one month to return home, regardless of the ongoing risk of junta airstrikes that have destroyed and completely wiped out many of their villages.
The authorities are alert and keeping an eye on the impacts of the civil war in Myanmar. From January 27, 2205, more than 260 Myanmar refugees have taken shelter in Manipur, India, along the Moreh border in Manipur, a defence source said on February 2, 2025. Since January 9, 2025, due to airstrikes by the Myanmar military, refugees have been streaming into areas close to the Manipur border in batches. Defence sources said that approximately 100 foreigners had sought temporary refuge but eventually returned after the bombings stopped.
Deportation of Illegal Immigrants
The Chief Minister of Manipur, Biren Singh, announced on social media that they had “completed the first phase of deportation” of 77 Myanmar refugees. The refugees were referred to as “illegal immigrants.” The government recorded their biometric data and identified them as “illegal migrants.” The Myanmar refugees will have to face the real risk of serious harm arising from the escalating conflict between the Myanmar military junta and resistance groups due to their forced return. The reports have stated that there have been indiscriminate attacks against civilians, extrajudicial killings, conflict-related sexual assault, conscription and recruitment by force. Areas of Myanmar along the Indian-Myanmar border, including Chin State and the Sagaing Region, have been affected by this increase in fighting.
The deportation was done due to the rapidly growing demand from the majority Meitei community to act against the “illegal migrants” belonging to Kuki-Zo-Chin communities living in the state. A total of 115 Myanmar nationals were similarly deported in the two batches, 77 in March and 38 in June last year.
After the deportation was started in March 2024, the Burma Refugee Community-Kabaw Valley, a pro-democracy human rights organisation in Myanmar, requested the Manipur government to hold the process of deportation on humanitarian grounds, as this decision could land them in the hands of the military junta.
Threats for Deported People
One of the displaced persons said that while towns like Kham Pat and Myo Thit in Sagaing are now under the control of the armed opposition forces, many homes were destroyed in junta arson attacks and rebuilding will be tough. He stated, “In the upper area of Sagaing, Nan Aung Maw village was completely burnt down, while all the houses in Su Thar Yar ward of Aung Zeya town were also destroyed.” “The refugees from these areas are preparing to return home this month. They will have to build makeshift bamboo houses, and they will face difficulties.”
Those displaced from Sagaing’s Tamu township dare not return, as the area remains under the control of junta forces and allied Pyu Saw Htee militia, he added. “These Manipur districts have ties to Naga rebels (fighting for independence in India’s Nagaland), who entered Myanmar through the border with Tamu township to join junta troops in armed conflict.”
Shared Border
India’s far-eastern states of Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh form a 1,600-kilometer (1,000-mile) border with Myanmar. Due to the Junta Attacks, thousands of people were forced to leave their homes in Chin State and the neighbouring Sagaing region. Many activists claim that among those who have infiltrated into India are supporters of those fighting to end military rule and they could be in a grave mistake and they could be in grave danger if forced back into the arms of the junta.