Anti-junta forces seize, attack Chin State towns in coordinated campaign

Anti-junta fighters seized a junta base in Chin State’s Tedim Township early Tuesday morning, capturing nine police officers just days after regime forces lost two nearby towns. A spokesperson for the People’s Defence Forces of Zoland (PDF Zoland)—part of the Chin Brothers alliance—said they and their allies launched the attack on junta bases north of Tedim at around 4am, taking over an outpost they called the Micro Tower base later that day. “We took nine prisoners while seizing the Micro Tower base,” the Zoland PDF spokesperson said, but declined to give further details about the operation. He added that a Chin Brothers fighter was killed and four were injured. The junta air force carried out airstrikes on Tedim during the Chin Brothers’ assaults, according to alliance fighters and local sources. A fire in Tedim Township seen on the morning of May 27. (Supplied) “Fighter jets conducted about 12 airstrikes between 5am and 10am,” a member of the Tedim Township people’s administration team (PAT) said. “They just fired on the town indiscriminately.” The Chin Brothers alliance includes the Zomi Federal Union—PDF Zoland’s political wing—as well as the Maraland Territorial Council’s armed wing the Maraland Defence Force, the Chinland Defence Forces of Kanpetlet, Brigade 1 of the Chinland Defence Forces of Matupi, and the Chin National Defence Force, which operates as the armed wing of the Chin National Organisation. Reports published in March 2023 by the junta-controlled general administration department said the town of Tedim comprised around 2,300 households and had a population of just over 15,000. Tedim is located at the intersection of three roads in northern Chin State, one leading to neighbouring Sagaing Region, and two others leading west and north to the India-Myanmar border. It is the site of the Myanmar army’s Infantry Battalion (IB) 269 base. Just days before the Chin Brothers’ assault on Tedim Township, anti-junta forces led by the Chin National Army (CNA) in Tonzang Township—bordering Tedim Township to the south—seized control of the towns of Cikha and Tonzang. Junta reinforcements airdropped to the battlefield in Tonzang Township were overwhelmed and forced to retreat towards Tedim. The junta air force carried out airstrikes on the villages of Vangteh and Mualbe in Tedim Township on Sunday morning, killing a man and his son and injuring another civilian, according to the township’s people’s administrative team (PAT) of Tedim township. They added that the airstrikes also destroyed a church and eight houses. IB 269 troops stationed on the north side of Tedim also shelled the southern part of the township at least five times. “They carried out airstrikes on the two villages at around 2am on May 26, and fired heavy artillery shells on the side of town where resistance forces were active,” a PAT official said. “Anti-junta troops returned fire from the Micro Tower base.” The military council has yet to release a statement concerning the battles in Tedim and Tonzang townships. However, pro-junta propaganda Telegram channels are encouraging followers to torch buildings allegedly occupied by anti-junta forces in the township. According to social welfare volunteers, residents of Tedim and displaced people seeking shelter there from recent battles in Cikha and Tonzang have now had to flee towards the Indian border. “Some fled to Kalay, where their relatives were,” the PAT official said, referring to the Sagaing Region town. “Others went back to their own villages. Most are now staying at the India-Myanmar border.” PDF Zoland is known for having captured a junta base on Kennedy Peak, the second-highest mountain in Chin State, in November 2023. Towns seized by anti-junta armed groups in Chin State (Supplied) Chin anti-junta forces have now seized control of the towns of Rihkhawdar, Lailenpi, Rezua, Kyin Dway, Cikha, and Tonzang in Chin State, as well as bases abandoned by the junta in Hnaring, M’kuiimnu, Webula, and Surkhua. According to data collected by the Chin Human Rights Organisation as of April 2024, fighting in Chin State has destroyed 116 religious buildings, 26 medical facilities, and 49 schools since Myanmar’s 2021 military coup. PDF Zoland fighters in early March 2024 (PDF Zoland)

Anti-junta forces seize, attack Chin State towns in coordinated campaign

Following the capture of Tonzang and Cikha by Chin National Army-led forces, the People’s Defence Forces of Zoland and other fighters of the Chin Brothers alliance assaulted regime forces in Tedim

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