Aizawl, Jan 10: A group of 28 refugees, belonging to the Bawm tribe, who recently crossed into Lawngtlai district from the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, are currently lodged at the Assam Rifles camp in Tuithumhnar village, police reports said on Thursday.

The group reportedly trekked through jungles in Bangladesh during the Christmas and New Year holidays to reach Hruitezawl village en route to Vathuampui village on Monday and Tuesday nights.

Assam Rifles personnel have provided the refugees with food, shelter, warm clothing, and medical care, according to Rinsanga, the Hruitezawl village council president, who visited the camp on Wednesday.

The group includes eight men, five women, and 15 children, nine of whom are baby girls. They hail from Khamtlang Para and Paikhiang villages of Rowngachhari Upazila in the Bandarban district of Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, the Lawngtlai district administration has directed that these refugees should not be pushed back and that they should be granted temporary shelter at Hruitezawl. This directive comes after 35 Bangladeshi refugees were turned back on December 27 after they were labelled as illegal immigrants.

Currently, Lawngtlai district hosts 2,014 refugees from Bangladesh, alongside 5,922 refugees from Myanmar and 84 internally displaced persons from Manipur. To support these populations, the district administration recently distributed 2,526 quintals of rice, providing 31.5 kg to every refugee.

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