278 junta soldiers from Paletwa flee to India again

 At least 278 Myanmar junta soldiers from the Paletwa region fled again to Mizoram in north-east India, reported DD News Mizoram.

According to the report, the soldiers reached the Assam Rifles camp  in Lawngtlai district at around 4 pm on Wednesday.

The media outlets of Mizoram reported that the soldiers fled following the capture of Paletwa township of Chin State by the Arakan Army (AA).

In a statement issued on 14 January, the AA said that among the remaining strongholds of the military junta, including the Hnamadar tactical operation command base, Khan Kha Taung tactical operation command base and Khan Kha Taung base were fully captured on 13 January. As a result, the soldiers from Khan Kha Taung base fled to India.

The military analysts also suggest that those 278 soldiers fled from the Khan Kha Taung base to Mizoram.

On 2 January, a total of 151 soldiers fled to Mizoram after the clashes involving the capture of Paletwa point-377 hill-based camp and the Myeik Wa battle. Later they were brought back to Sittwe by the military junta via aeroplane.

As a result of the conflicts in Paletwa, the junta soldiers fled to India on various occasions precisely in November and December 2023 and twice in January.