New Delhi, April 26: Delhi has finally convinced an unwilling Mizoram government to take back the Reang refugees who have been in forced exile in Tripura for a decade.

A thousand Reangs — also called Brus — have returned to the villages they call home in the last few weeks, ending a long stalemate over repatriation between the Mizoram and Tripura governments.

Sources in the Union home ministry said as many as 800 Reangs were repatriated to Mizoram in the last fortnight.

The process began after a series of meetings between Delhi and the Mizoram government. However, the administration in North Tripura district, where the refugee camps are located, has been finding it difficult to co-ordinate the repatriation process due to snags in the telecommunication network for over a week now. Over 30,000 Reangs were displaced during an ethnic conflict with the Mizos in 1997. They migrated to Kanchanpur subdivision of North Tripura, where refugee camps were set up for them.

Officials of the Mizoram home department said the state was facing difficulties in handling the refugees due to a resource crunch.

Some of those who have already returned claim to be activists of the Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF), which campaigned for an autonomous district for the Reangs of Mizoram in the 1990s. The militant group laid down arms in October last year.

Official sources said less than 50 of the returnees were BNLF activists. Each of them was paid Rs 30,000 for surrendering.

The returnees are staying in transit camps and said to be scouting for places to settle down with assistance from the government.“We have told them that they have been ghettoised for too long,” a home ministry official said.

The BNLF, an armed outfit of the Reangs, was formed in 1996 following violent clashes between Mizos and Reang tribesmen in Mamit subdivision.

Other Reang organisations also listed demands, lea-ding to a confrontation with organisations like the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) and Young Mizo Association (YMA).

In Tripura, Reangs were again persecuted as the repatriation issue dragged on. Last month, there were reports of a new Bru militant group becoming active along the Mizoram-Tripura border. The National Liberation Front of Tripura has been reportedly helping the outfit.

Delhi started making efforts to end the impasse after a visit to the refugee camps by a home ministry delegation earlier this year. Bru leaders visited Delhi last month to chalk out the modalities for repatriation.