The Chinland Defence Force (CDF) said it has clashed repeatedly with regime forces since two military columns entered southern Chin State’s Mindat Township from neighbouring Magway Region on Sunday.
Clashes have been reported near the villages of Shit Hmway, where the group said it fought a column arriving from Htilin Township in the north, and Aw Laung Pan, where it clashed with a second column coming from Kyaukhtu in the east.
The Mindat chapter of the CDF said that only one of its troops had been injured in the clashes, while at least one junta soldier had been killed and several others were wounded.
The two columns were believed to be planning to converge on the town of Mindat in the coming days, according to CDF Mindat spokesperson Yaw Mahn.
He added that there are fears that the two columns, which have been traveling through forested areas to avoid clashes, could encounter displaced villagers.
“The military doesn’t spare IDP camps, churches or monasteries, so many villagers have fled to the woods. If they meet with soldiers there, too, they’ll have to find somewhere else to hide,” he said.
At least 2,000 civilians from more than a dozen villages have been forced to flee their homes since fighting began to intensify in the area straddling Chin State and Magway Region earlier this month, according to Yaw Mahn.
The junta has been sending massive reinforcements into the region since early October as part of an offensive that aims to wipe out local resistance to its rule.
The regime declared martial law in Mindat Township in late April and cut off most internet access the following month.
Meanwhile, resistance forces operating in the area have formed the Mindat People’s Administration Team as a form of autonomous government based on Chin traditions.
Myanmar Now was unable to reach junta officials for comment on the latest clashes in Chin State.
