Chin theater

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Not to be confused with Chinese theatre.
Chin theater
Part of Myanmar civil war (2021–present) and the Internal conflict in Myanmar

Location of Chin State within Myanmar
DateApril 2021 – present
Location
Chin State, Myanmar
Status Ongoing
Territorial
changes
Belligerents

Tatmadaw

Zomi Revolutionary Army[1]
Strength
6+ infantry battalions in the State [3] and other deployed troops 10,000 (CDF and CNF only)[4]
Casualties and losses
900+ killed and several wounded as of July 2022[5] 53 killed and several wounded as of July 2022[5]

The Chin theater[6] is one of the theaters of the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), with resistance forces fighting against the Tatmadaw military junta in Chin State, western Myanmar.

Background[edit]

Chin State is the least-developed region of Myanmar. It is located in the far west, on the border with India.[7]

Paletwa, located in Southern Chin State, Myanmar, has met conflict earlier than other towns in the State. Since 2019, the AA has been engaging in multiple armed clashes with the Myanmar army,[8] as part of Conflict in Rakhine State (2016-present). The Myanmar army imposed an internet shutdown in Paletwa since then.[9]

Prelude[edit]

After the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, people from Chin State were particularly active in anti-coup protests. Days after the beginning of the 2021 Kalay clashes on March 28, 2021, resistance groups in Chin State formed the Chinland Defense Forces on April 4, 2021 to defend civilians from the Tatmadaw's violent crackdowns against protestors.[7] Similarly, the Chin National Organization (CNO), along with its armed wing, the Chin National Defense Force (CNDF), was established on April 13th, 2021.[10]

Timeline[edit]

2021[edit]

Further information: Battle of Mindat and Battle of Thantlang

On 26 April 2021, the Battle of Mindat became the first large-scale conflict arising from the 2021 coup. As a response, the junta cut off food and water supplies and declared martial law.[11] More than 10,000 people have left Mindat in southern Chin State as the Myanmar military started an all-out operation to quell an armed revolt headed by local citizens. [12] Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor reported that the Myanmar military used cluster munitions bombs in Mindat.[13]

In late May 2021, the Chin-State based Chin National Front became the first ethnic armed organization to formally ally with the National Unity Government of Myanmar in the fight against the junta.[4]

On 19 September 2021, clashes broke out in Thantlang when Chin National Army (CNA) and CDF-Thantlang launched an attack on a junta base reportedly killing around 30 soldiers. In response, junta forces killed a Christian leader who tried to put off a fire. A month later they returned and burned down two churches and at least 164 homes.[14][15] The battle also leads to the exodus of thousands of residents as early as September 2021. Over 10,000 Thantlang residents fled the town, seeking refuge in the countryside and the neighboring Indian state of Mizoram.

CDF Paletwa carried out its first attack against junta soldiers in November 2021.[citation needed]

2022[edit]

In January 2022, tensions escalated between the military regime troops and the joint local forces (CNA, Chin National Defence Force, CDF Siyin, CDF KKG, PDF Zoland, PDF Kalay, Zomi PDF, Zogam Army) in Taingen village, Tedim, a strategic point on the road of Kalay-Tedim and Kalay-Falam, which also served as an entry point to Chin State from Sagaing. On January 12, the junta's transportation units advanced to the village from Kalay to deliver military supplies to its troops. The next day, on January 13, clashes broke out. The regime faced severe setbacks and fired heavy weapons from Kalay University while deploying air support.[16] Consequently, over 1000 residents of Taingen and nearby villages, including Mualpi, Khai Kam, and Theizang, were displaced. The joint defense forces claimed an estimated 75 junta forces were killed. The battle lasted for over 10 days, and the joint forces eventually retreated due to inadequate weaponry.[17] [18]

As of May 2022, active fighting was taking place in eight of the nine townships of Chin State.[7] In September 2022, the Chin National Army claimed that around 70% of the state was under the control of resistance forces.[19]

By November 2022, much of Thantlang had been burned down.[citation needed]

2023[edit]

On January 10 and 12, 2023, Myanmar Air Force carried out airstrikes with one Yak-130 and two MiG-29[20] targeting Camp Victoria, CNA's headquarters, near the India-Myanmar border. Five CNA soldiers were killed, at least 10 were injured and some buildings were damaged. The air attacks violated Indian airspace and soil, according to the CNF, local Mizo organizations, and the international research and advocacy organization Fortify Rights.[21] The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) states that at least 200 Chin refugees crossed the border later the week following the airstrikes by Myanmar Army.[22]

CDF Matupi engaged in attacks near Paletwa Township. On March 23 and 24, 2023, CDF Matupi and CNA attacked junta's convoy on the Matupi-Paletwa road, and claimed 13 soldiers were killed.[23] CDF Paletwa assured that on 15 March 2023, Assam Rifles entered Paletwa township and fired gunshots.[24] However,the Assam Rifles denied, saying its soldiers were engaged in “routine border point verification inside the Indian territory."[25]

On April 10th 2023, Webula town, situated about 20 miles away from Falam town experienced an attack by Myanmar Air Force. The attack followed the seizure of the Var military camp by the CNDF earlier that day.[26] The town was targeted along with Var village and Kyaung Hel village. This assault resulted in the deaths of at least nine civilians, while many others sustained injuries due to the airstrikes. Among the casualties were individuals near a school and a football field where fighter jet shells exploded. The airstrikes caused extensive damage to five civilian houses.[27]

In May 2023, the first clash in Paletwa after the coup broke out between AA and the Myanmar military.[citation needed]

More than 100 battles had occurred in Chin State between July and November 2022, reported the Diplomat.[28] The conflict between AA and the Myanmar military ended in Paletwa after both parties agreed to a temporary cease-fire with Yōhei Sasakawa's intermediary.[29]

The first clash in Tonzang, located in northern Chin State, took place on August 1, 2023. The CDFs (CDF Hualngoram, Tonzang CDF, and PDA), along with the CNA, attacked Tonzang Police Station. The fight continued until August 2 and resulted in the death of one CDF soldier and a civilian man, forcing nearby residents to flee.[30]

On November 14, 2023, the Arakan Army-Tatmadaw ceasefire breached after the AA, along with its alliance, launched the Operation 1027. The Arakan Army attacked military's outposts in Paletwa township and military deployed air strikes and heavy artillery fire, leading to ongoing and intense fighting. [31]

On the same day, the Chin National Army and the local CDFs forces attacked the Myanmar Army's border guard outpost in Rikhawdar, Falam Township, a hub for border trade with India. The junta responded with air assaults using a jet fighter.[32] Aljazeera reported more than 5000 people from Rihkhawdar and nearby villages fled to Mizoram, India.[33] A total of 43 Myanmar soldiers crossed the India-Myanmar border and sought refuge from the Indian police.[34] They were handed to the Myanmar officials by the Indian authorities through Moreh-Tamu border.[35] Two days later, residents who had fled to India returned, marking the town as the first in Chin State under the control of the resistance forces.[36]

On November 15, 2023, eleven civilians, including eight children, were killed in a Myanmar Air Force airstrike in Vuilu village of Matupi town, Southern Chin State. After the attack, the junta cut off mobile phone communications. Residents reported that there was no battle and CDF Matupi claimed that the attack deliberately targeted civilians.[37][38][39]

2024[edit]

On 12 January 2024, the junta base at Taingen was attacked by the CNA, Civic Defense Militia, and the CDF. The base was being defended by 12 soldiers and 18 police officers. Fighting lasted for five days until 16 January, and involved junta forces shelling and using airstrikes against the attacking EAOs from their position in Kalay. The EAOs however killed majority of the junta forces using drone bombs.[40] According to Salai Lian Bawi, spokesman of the Chin National Front, the joint Chin force had repeatedly phoned the junta forces to surrender, however they refused and all died. Casualties on the Chin's side were a total of eight - one for the CNA, and seven for the CDF. The joint force also suffered the loss of four drones, each worth around 90 million kyat.[41]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Junta Enlists Indian Insurgent Groups to Fight Resistance Forces in Western Myanmar". The Irrawaddy. 2 February 2022. Archived from the original on November 7, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  2. ^ https://myind.net/Home/viewArticle/chinese-backed-rebels-in-myanmar-declare-new-country-on-indias-eastern-border Archived March 2, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Military Command structure in Chin State". Chin Human Rights Orginization. Archived from the original on 2022-07-08. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
  4. ^ a b Ye Myo Hein 2022, p. 41.
  5. ^ a b "Over 900 Myanmar junta soldiers killed in battles in Chin and Sagaing over six months". BNI Online. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023.
  6. ^ Ye Myo Hein 2022, p. 7.
  7. ^ a b c Ye Myo Hein 2022, p. 39.
  8. ^ "At Least 20 Troops Killed in Paletwa Clashes, AA Says". The Irrawaddy. May 27, 2019. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023.
  9. ^ "Myanmar reimposes internet shutdown in conflict-torn Rakhine, Chin states: telco operator". Reuters. February 5, 2020. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023.
  10. ^ "Chin people form CNO, CNDF". Burma News International. Archived from the original on April 8, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  11. ^ "Myanmar: The small embattled town that stood up to the army". BBC. Archived from the original on March 31, 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Junta cuts off water and food supplies to rebel town of Mindat". Military Coup Myanmar. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  13. ^ "Cluster Munition Production and Use in Myanmar/Burma" (PDF). Relief Web. Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2024.
  14. ^ "New fighting breaks out in Chin State's Thantlang". Myanmar Now. Archived from the original on 2023-06-20. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  15. ^ "How a Myanmar Township Defied the Odds to Become a Resistance Stronghold". Times. 9 November 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-02-17.
  16. ^ "တီးတိန်မြို့နယ်ထဲ ဆယ်ရက်ကျော်ကြာ တိုက်ပွဲဖြစ်ပွား". RFA. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023.
  17. ^ "လူနှင့်လက်နက်အင်အား မမျှမှုကြောင့် ချင်းပြည်သူ့ကာကွယ်ရေးတပ်ဖွဲ့တွေ သိုင်းငင်ရွာကို စွန့်ခွါရဟုဆို". BNI Online. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023.
  18. ^ "ကလေး-တီးတိန်လမ်း ဟိန်ဇိန်ကျေးရွာဘက်ကို စစ်ကောင်စီတပ်က လေကြောင်းအပါအဝင် အမြောက်လက်နက်ကြီးတွေနဲ့ အပြင်းအထန် ထိုးစစ်ဆင်နေ". Khonumthung. Archived from the original on December 6, 2023.
  19. ^ "Around 70% of Western Myanmar's Chin State Controlled by Resistance". The Irrawaddy. 8 September 2022. Archived from the original on August 6, 2023.
  20. ^ "Five killed in junta airstrike on Chin resistance force headquarters near Myanmar-India border". Myanmar Now. January 12, 2023. Archived from the original on August 6, 2023.
  21. ^ "Fears of escalation after Myanmar air raids near India border". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on February 4, 2024.
  22. ^ "Refugees Flee to India Amid Military Airstrikes in Myanmar". VOA News. January 18, 2023. Archived from the original on October 3, 2023.
  23. ^ Zan, Hein Htoo (2023-03-27). "Convoy of Myanmar Junta Reinforcements Decimated Near Matupi: Chin Resistance". The Irrawaddy. Archived from the original on March 22, 2024. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  24. ^ Web Master. "Assam Rifles fired ten gunshots after entering Paletwa township". www.narinjara.com. Archived from the original on October 28, 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  25. ^ Hasnat, Karishma (2023-03-15). "'Routine verification' — Assam Rifles deny they crossed border after Myanmar media outlet posts photos". ThePrint. Archived from the original on October 28, 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  26. ^ "Myanmar's western Chin state pummeled by junta's air force in April". RFA News. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  27. ^ "Regime Forces Resistance Groups From Village In Tedim Township". BNI Online. January 26, 2022. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023.
  28. ^ "Atrocities Mount Amid the Return to War in Western Myanmar". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  29. ^ "Myanmar military, Arakan Army halt hostilities on humanitarian grounds". Radio Free Asia. November 28, 2023. Archived from the original on March 29, 2024.
  30. ^ "Civilian and defence force fighter killed in Tonzang Township, Chin State". Mizzima. August 5, 2023. Archived from the original on August 6, 2023.
  31. ^ "Myanmar Armed Group Presses Offensive in Rakhine State". The Defense Post. AFP News. Archived from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  32. ^ "Chin Resistance Routs Myanmar Junta in Second Indian Border Town". The Irrawaddy. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  33. ^ "Myanmar ethnic alliance fighters attack border outposts as civilians flee". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on March 22, 2024. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  34. ^ "Myanmar fighting intensifies near India border, curfew imposed in Sittwe". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  35. ^ "39 Myanmar soldiers return home through Moreh border". Times of India. Archived from the original on December 3, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  36. ^ "After battle with junta, Myanmar rebels take control of border point with India". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  37. ^ "Civilians Killed in Myanmar Junta Air Strike in Chin". The Irrawaddy. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  38. ^ "12 men in tea shop massacred by junta troops for no apparent reason". Radio Free Asia. Archived from the original on December 11, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  39. ^ Jonathan Head. "Myanmar: Eight children killed in military strike on school in Chin State". BBC. Archived from the original on February 12, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  40. ^ "Around 30 Myanmar Junta Personnel Killed in Chin State: Resistance". The Irrawaddy. 17 January 2024. Archived from the original on March 22, 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  41. ^ "30 junta soldiers killed in Taingen battle in Tedim » Myanmar Peace Monitor". Myanmar Peace Monitor. 2024-01-16. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved 2024-01-18.

Bibliography[edit]

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