Chin anti-junta groups in northwest Myanmar agree to end mutual hostilities

The leaders of anti-junta fighting forces based in Chin State met in India last week to enter into an agreement aimed at ending months of sporadic clashes among their respective groups, according to their spokespersons. After participating in negotiations in the state of Mizoram, India, groups affiliated with the Chinland Council and the Interim Chin National Consultative Council (ICNCC)—an older coalition from which the Chinland Council separated in 2023—announced that they had agreed on Sunday to a process for settling intergroup disputes peacefully. “We still have matters to discuss among ourselves. If disagreements occur, our priority will be to gather at the table to resolve them peacefully rather than resorting to violence,” said Salai Paul, a spokesperson for the Chinland Council. Towns in Chin State controlled by armed groups Armed groups on both sides have confirmed agreeing to establish a committee to decide the terms of a long-term ceasefire. While truce is now in effect among the Chin anti-junta forces, key matters of dispute remain unresolved, according to Salai Peter Thang, a spokesperson for the Chin Brothers alliance who was present at the discussion. These matters include differing positions over provisions of the Constitution drafted by the Chinland Council in 2023, and the terms governing the armed groups’ participation in military operations commanded by the Chinland Council, Salai Peter Thang said. He added that the next meeting would convene before the end of the year. The CNF/A is an ally of the Arakan Army (AA), Rakhine State’s largest and most powerful ethnic armed organisation, which also currently controls Chin State’s Paletwa Township. The military regime’s forces are still in control of Hakha, Chin State’s administrative capital, as well as the towns of Falam, Mindat, and Tedim. However, anti-junta groups also control swaths of territory in the state, maintaining an especially strong presence in rural areas. On September 21, Chin resistance forces participated in a discussion in Aizawl city, Mizoram State, organized by the ZORO group based in India Chin National Front, Chin Brothers Alliance, and intergroup conflict The Chin National Front (CNF) and its armed wing, the Chin National Army (CNA), is a political organisation that has been active in the Chin Hills of northwestern Myanmar since 1988. Despite signing the now-defunct Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with the Myanmar military in 2015, the group was among the first to align with the resistance against the newly installed junta following Myanmar’s military coup of 2021. Research groups estimated that the Chin National Front and Army (CNF/A) had only around 200 armed members before the military seized power, but their numbers rose significantly in response to the coup. CNF/A forces have led anti-junta fighters in capturing the towns of Rihkhawdar, Lailenpi, Rezua, and Tonzang from junta forces on India’s border with Chin State. The group also led the formation of the Chinland Council, a body claiming the authority to govern and establish administrative offices in Chin State, this year on the third anniversary of the coup, and enlisted a veteran member of the ousted National League for Democracy party, Pa Thang, as chief minister. Graduation ceremony for new CNF/A recruits held in September 2022 at the group’s headquarters at Camp Victoria in Chin State’s Thantlang Township (Photo: Chinland Information Centre) The Chin Brothers Alliance—sometimes also referred to as the Chin Brotherhood—consists mostly of member groups founded since 2021 to resist the new military dictatorship. Formed in December 2023, the alliance is currently made up of six members: the Chin National Council-Mindat, Chin National Organisation, Zomi Federal Union, Chinland Defence Force (CDF) of Kanpetlet, CDF-Matupi Brigade 1, and Maraland Territorial Council (MTC). It currently controls the towns of Kyin Dway and Matupi in Chin State. In addition to its alliance with the AA, the Chin Brothers forces also maintain ties with the ICNCC, the body from which the CNF/A splintered in 2023, citing delays in drafting a workable constitution for a government of Chin State maintaining autonomy from the military council. Members of the Chin Brothers Alliance after seizing a howitzer from the Myanmar army’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 304 base in Matupi, Chin State in June (Photo: Chin Brotherhood) Conflicts have broken out several times this year among the armed anti-junta groups in Chin State, especially between fighters aligned with the CNF/A and those aligned with the Chin Brothers Alliance. In January, a shootout occurred between members of the CNF/A and Chinland Defence Forces (CDF)-Mara on one side, and the Maraland Defence Force—the armed wing of the MTC, a Chin Brothers Alliance member—on the other. A member of the CNF/A and a member of the CDF-Mara were killed. Less than a month later, another clash broke out between members of the involved groups near Paik Tay village in Matupi Township, resulting in the death of one CNF/A member.The most recent clash occurred in June, involving an exchange of fire between two Chin anti-junta groups during a battle to take control of Matupi from junta forces. On September 21, Chin anti-junta forces took part in ceasefire negotiations in Aizawl in the Indian State of Mizoram

Chin anti-junta groups in northwest Myanmar agree to end mutual hostilities

Following months of infighting and two fatal shootings, armed organisations fighting against the military junta in Chin State have agreed to a process to avoid fighting amongst themselves

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