Dhaka, July 3 -- After a year in exile in India's Mizoram state, 70-year-old Damun Bawm and his family returned to Bangladesh hoping to reclaim their lives. But back in Bandarban's remote hills, he found no home to return to -- only hunger and uncertainty.

"I couldn't even step into my old home," said Damun, who fled fighting between the armed Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) and Bangladeshi security forces in Rowangchhari Upazila on May 23 last year.

He is now living in his daughter's in-laws' house.

Damun is among nearly 300 displaced Bawm families who have returned in recent months from hiding in forests and refugee camps in Mizoram, according to the Bawm Social Council.

Many of them fled as early as late 2022 or early 2023, fearing ...