Asho Chin resistance leader killed in Myanmar military ambush

Three members of the Chin Defense Force–Asho (CDF-Asho), including its commander-in-chief, Salai Yoe Chin, were killed last week during a Myanmar military ambush while traveling in Ngape Township, Magway Region. On August 14, four CDF-Asho members en route to their unit's supply base were attacked by a junta column from Artillery Battalion 905 based in Sonkone village, Ngape Township. During the ensuing gunfight, 32-year-old Commander-in-Chief Salai Yoe Chin, Lance Cpl. Salai Phyo Thiha Zaw, 22, and Aung Lin Zaw, 18, were killed, while one other member managed to escape, according to the unit’s chief of military operations, Salai Pyone Thone. Despite initial hope that they had managed to escape, he said that the bodies of the three men have now been recovered. “Even after contact was lost, I held on to hope thinking he might escape. While following the news and conducting ground searches, the moment I saw the dead body photo, my whole world went dark. I was completely shocked, feeling as if everything had evaporated,” Salai Pyone Thone told Myanmar Now. The junta frequently conducts operations into villages near the CDF-Asho supply base, Salai Pyone Thone said, but this time the team led by Salai Yoe Chin accidentally ran head-on into the junta troops, taking them by surprise and giving them little chance of escape. Scene from Salai Yoe Chin’s funeral service (Photo: CDF-Asho) Members of the resistance group said that Salai Yoe Chin had been an Asho activist since before the 2021 military coup, and that his death is a major loss for the unit. “He did as much as he could for the Asho Chin people. He also had steadfast faith in the revolution,” said an officer from the CDF-Asho Information Department. Myanmar Now contacted Col. Myo Aung of the junta’s Tatmadaw Information Team to learn more about the situation in Ngape Township, but he said he was travelling and could not talk. The Asho people, sometimes called the Asho Chin people, live in the lowland plains of central Myanmar, including Magway and Bago regions. Following the 2021 military coup, Asho youth established the Asho Chin Defense Force (ACDF) and engaged in armed resistance against the junta. In 2023, internal disagreements led the CDF-Asho to break away from ACDF and establish their own unit. However, the two groups have since carried out joint attacks against the regime in Ngape Township.

Asho Chin resistance leader killed in Myanmar military ambush

CDF-Asho leader and activist, Salai Yoe Chin, was one of three unit members killed during a junta ambush in Magway Region

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