Tension prevails along Mizoram-Tripura border - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Tension continues to prevail in border areas along Mizoram and Tripura. A violent mob set fire over 360 Reang tribals huts, in around 15 villages in Mamit and Kolashib districts in Mizoram on November 14, displacing over 5, 000 people. The Mizoram government has issued shoot-at-sight orders to bring the situation under control. Reports said violence erupted after members of the suspected Bru National Army, a local militant group, allegedly shot dead an 18-year-old Mizo boy while he was collecting fodder with his friends in a forest. Angry Bru community members staged a protest in the Kanchanpur area and sought the central government's intervention in the case. "Unless the central government intervenes in this matter, this will lead to communal violence," said Bruno, a displaced Bru tribal leader. Thousands of Reang or Bru refugees have been staying in different camps in Tripura after ethnic clashes broke out in 1997.