Since the February 2021 military coup, 1,557 Paletwa residents have been forced to flee to India because of fighting between the military council forces and the local People's Defense Forces (PDFs) in Paletwa Township, Chin State.

Refugees from Paletwa who have arrived in Mizoram State, India, have been provided with food and shelter at 17 locations.

"After 2015, fighting broke out between the AA (Arakan Army) and the Myanmar military in Paletwa. It displaced villagers who fled to the city. Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps have been set up and provided for in both Paletwa and Samee townships. After the military coup villagers no longer dared to come to the city. Instead, people gathered nearby and fled abroad to Mizoram State", said a person assisting Paletwa refugees.

There are currently more than 30,000 Burmese refugees in the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram, which borders Myanmar’s Chin State.

"They ran away because they were afraid. There are arbitrary arrests of the residents.

“A pastor and twenty-five villagers who were arrested last month from Pawa village have been arrested in Paletwa township on two counts. Residents do not dare to stay because junta military troops arrest and beat them if they are suspicious of them”, a fugitive said.

The junta military council has currently closed the upper and lower town gates of Sami. This has made it difficult to bring food into the town and more villagers are fleeing because they worry that there will soon be a famine.

Although refugees in Mizoram are being supported and provided for by the Mizoram government, churches, NGOs and the people of Mizoram, refugees living in the camps are still facing difficulties.