The Chinland Defence Force (CDF) says it carried out an attack on a military base on the road between Chin State’s Matupi and Paletwa townships on Monday.
The attack on the Theboi base, where around 60 junta troops are stationed, began at around 7:30am and led to a full day of fighting, a spokesperson for the group said.
“We are doing our best to defend ourselves. They have been firing heavy artillery at us non-stop,” said CDF (Matupi) information officer Nway Oo Linn.
Speaking to Myanmar Now by phone at around 4pm on Monday, he added that casualty figures and other information were not yet available.
The junta cut off internet access in the area in late September, forcing residents and resistance groups to rely mainly on telephones for communication.
According to Nway Oo Linn, the military has increased the frequency of its arrests in Matupi since reinforcements arrived there last week.
Nearly 3,000 residents of the township have been displaced by recent clashes between the military and resistance forces, according to local sources.
Fighting in Chin State and Magway and Sagaing regions has forced more than 90,000 civilians to flee their homes in recent months, according to a report released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in early December.
As of December 6, there were an estimated 284,700 people displaced across Myanmar due to clashes and insecurity triggered by the February 1 coup, the agency said in its report.
In late November, CDF (Matupi) and Chin National Army fighters attacked an outpost on the Matupi-Paletwa road manned by troops from the military’s Light Infantry Battalion 304, killing two regime soldiers.
A day later, the CDF (Matupi) launched another attack on the Matupi District Office, killing two more junta troops, the group claimed.
