Arakan Army to launch public administration in Paletwa Township, Chin State

The Arakan Army (AA) issued a statement on Monday claiming they would prioritise including local leaders in the creation of a new administrative apparatus in Paletwa Township, Chin State, which the organisation has controlled since January. During the online press conference where he delivered the statement, AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha said that the United League of Arakan (ULA)—the AA’s political wing—has assumed provisional control of Paletwa Township’s government for peacekeeping purposes. “Paletwa remains under the ULA’s control to ensure peace and stability in the area,” Khaing Thukha said. “Paletwa is an area where several different ethnic groups coexist. Therefore, we need to draw up plans bearing in mind the development and safety of all ethnic groups and prioritising inclusive governance.” He added that the AA would cooperate with local leaders in handling administrative, judicial, safety, and social welfare matters for Paletwa Township’s people. One civilian resident of Paletwa Township said locals expect the AA to show equal respect for everyone’s rights. “We believe that everything will stay the same regardless of who is winning, unless the winning party can grant us equal rights. We only hope that Rakhine and Chin people will enjoy equal rights,” the Paletwa Township resident said. “We have yet to see how they are going to implement their plans, so it’s still too early to comment.” The AA initiated assaults on military bases in Paletwa Township—which shares Rakhine State’s northern border—in November of last year, ultimately capturing it in the second week of January. Following two months of attacks on junta bases in the area, the AA announced on January 13 that the military council’s administrative apparatus in Paletwa Township was defunct. During the fighting, thousands of Paletwa civilians were forced to flee to nearby forests and hills, to the Indian border, and to other states and regions in the country. While some residents have resettled in the town since the AA captured it, most have stayed away due to the threat of junta airstrikes. “Even though the AA said that it was safe to settle back in Paletwa, we still fear airstrikes, so three quarters of us are still displaced. It’s not that we don’t want to resettle, it’s that we don’t dare to,” said the Paletwa Township resident, who is also displaced from his home. According to the data released in early 2020 by the general administration department—which operates within the home affairs ministry—just over 80 percent of Paletwa Township’s population is of Chin ethnicity, while most of the remaining population is Rakhine. Khaing Thukha also said that AA must drive out all junta forces still based in Chin State, and that the AA was providing support for allies in liberating the entire state. “What we would like to say to Chin organisations and people worried about Paletwa is that we should focus more on the liberation of Chin State rather than worry only about Paletwa,” Khaing Thukha said. Intergroup politics in Chin State It remains uncertain whether the AA and ULA’s plans to establish an administration in a Chin State township will cause friction with other anti-junta organisations active in the area, some of which have engaged in recent disputes with AA allies in the state. Junta forces are currently facing resistance in the state from the Chin National Front and its armed wing, the Chin National Army (Chin National Front/Army or CNF/A) in Chin State, as well as other ethnic armed groups and political organisations. Within the state, anti-junta groups have seized control of the town of Rihkawdar on the India-Myanmar border, as well as the towns of Lailenpi, Rezua, Hnaring, M'kuiimnu, Surkhua, and Webula. The towns of Hakha, Falam, and Matupi remain under junta control. The Maraland Defence Force (MDF) is known to have cooperated with the AA, with MDF forces having fought alongside the AA in battles in Paletwa Township. Both the MDF and the Chinland Defence Forces based in Mara (CDF-Mara) maintain an active presence in the homeland of the Mara ethnic community between Paletwa and Matupi. A dispute arose in January when the CDF-Mara accused the MDF of detaining its members without just cause, leading to a fatal shootout between the two groups. The CDF-Mara is a member of the Chinland Council, the formation of which was led by the CNF/A in December 2023. The MDF, however, is a member of the “Chin Brothers” alliance consisting of various anti-junta groups from the Chin State townships of Falam, Mindat, Tedim, and Tonzang that declined to join the Chinland Council. Instead, the members of the Chin Brothers alliance have continued to take part in the Interim Chin National Consultative Council (ICNCC), a group that formed after the military coup in 2021. The CNF/A was one of the original members of the ICNCC, but separated from it in 2023 and formed the Chinland Council due to the ICNCC’s failure to draft a constitution for the government of Chin State. According to a spokesperson for the CDF-Mara, the AA has provided support to the MDF in Maraland. “The MDF took the AA’s military training and has formed an alliance with them. The MDF didn’t have that many troops before; only around 40 to 50. There are now around 200 to 300 MDF troops in Paletwa Township, so they must be working with the AA,” said Ko James, a CDF-Mara spokesperson. “Our men who went to the frontlines also saw them wearing AA uniforms and insignia,” he added, referring to MDF forces. The AA, however, dismissed these allegations as rumours spread to defame them. “This is a conflict between two Mara groups,” Khaing Thukha said at the Monday press conference. “There is no intervention on the side of either group, nor are we rendering aid to any groups.” According to CDF-Mara, in the two months since tensions and fighting arose between the CDF-Mara—which is supported by the CNF/A—and the MDF, one CDF-Mara fighter and seven CNA fighters have been killed. The MDF is still holding four members of the CDF-Mara captive, Ko James said. The ICNCC issued a statement in late February urging all non-Mara armed groups to cease operations in the area where the disputes arose and calling for a peaceful resolution to the dispute between the CDF-Mara and the MDF.

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