Chin people coming from Cikha Township in Burma to Manipur have been stopped from entering the state by the Assam Rifles in northeast India.

According to a source the Assam Rifles believes that Chin people are providing food to the insurgents of Meitei in Cikha Township, western Burma. Thus the ban on Chin people coming to Manipur state.

“Assam Rifles in Manipur state has accused us of providing food to Indian underground groups. So, we cannot enter Lamka town as all vehicles are being checked on the border for Chin people. If the Assam Rifles personnel find Chins, they push them back to Chin state,” said Mr. Tuang, a human rights activist of Zomi.

Most Chin people in Cikha Township depend on Manipur state for daily commodities. With the gate closed for Chin people, they are in a spot and have to go to Tonzang Township to get food and other essential commodities. And the goods are costlier than in Manipur, he added.

The Cikha to Manipur road has been closed from the third week of March by Assam Rifles in Manipur and there is no information when it will be reopened.

However, the closure of the border road is common because Indian border forces and ethnic insurgency groups often clash in the Indo-Myanmar border area.-