The Mizoram government is planning to relocate all refugees taking shelter in different parts of the state and to bring them in one place, according to Lalmuanpuia Punte, political adviser to the chief minister. Punte on Thursday convened a meeting with officials of south Mizoram's Lawngtlai district to discuss issues concerning over 2,000 Bangladeshi refugees taking shelter in the district. He told the meeting that proper guidelines should be formulated to prevent the refugees from settling and shifting anywhere they want. Punte said that the government is taking steps to relocate and bring the refugees together in one place rather than be scattered in different villages for administrative convenience. The plan will also help the government in providing humanitarian assistance in a more convenient way, he said. Punte further said that plans are afoot to relocate 2,014 refugees from Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) currently taking shelter in different villages in Lawngtl
The number of people fleeing their homes because of war, violence and persecution has reached 114 million and is climbing because nations have failed to tackle the causes and combatants are refusing to comply with international law, the UN refugee chief said Thursday. In a hard-hitting speech, Filippo Grandi criticized the UN Security Council, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, for failing to use its voice to try to resolve conflicts from Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan to Congo, Myanmar and many other places. He also accused unnamed countries of making short-sighted foreign policy decisions, often founded on double standards, with lip service paid to compliance with the law, but little muscle flexed from the council to actually uphold it and with it peace and security. Grandi said non-compliance with international humanitarian law means that parties to conflicts increasingly everywhere, almost all of them have stopped respecting the laws of war, though
Israeli forces on Tuesday expanded their ground offensive into urban refugee camps in central Gaza after bombarding the crowded Palestinian communities and ordering residents to evacuate. Gaza's main telecom provider announced another complete interruption of services in the besieged territory. The military's announcement of the new battle zone threatens further destruction in a war that Israel says will last for many months as it vows to crush the ruling Hamas militant group after its October 7 attack. Israeli forces have been engaged in heavy urban fighting in northern Gaza and the southern city of Khan Younis, driving Palestinians into ever-smaller areas in search of refuge. The US said Israel's minister for strategic affairs, Ron Dermer, was meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Despite US calls for Israel to curb civilian casualties and international pressure for a cease-fire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said
According to the United Nations, 20 people leave everything behind every minute to escape war, persecution or terror
The emergency centre, which will be housed in an old railway site in the north of Paris, aims to replace the makeshift camps