Chin armed group detains two Yaw Defence Force members

The Chin National Army (CNA) took two members of the Yaw Defence Force (YDF) from Magway Region into custody on Sunday amid rising tensions between anti-junta armed groups in Chin State. Members of the CNA—the armed wing of the political organisation Chin National Front (CNF)—detained YDF logistics officer Oak Thein and a YDF lance corporal in Yaung Net village in Magway Region’s Gangaw Township, according to a YDF spokesperson. He added that the CNA took the detainees over 80 miles away to the CNF’s headquarters at Camp Victoria in Chin State, located on the India-Myanmar border around 25 miles north of the town of Thantlang. “They came into the Yaw area to make the arrests. We don't know exactly how they detained our comrades. We only know that they were taken to the headquarters," the YDF spokesperson said on Tuesday morning. The YDF, one of the local resistance forces that emerged in central Myanmar after the 2021 military coup, is based in the Yaw area, the homeland of the Yaw ethnic community in Magway Region bordering on Chin State and Sagaing Region. The area, which includes the towns of Gangaw, Tilin, Saw, and Kyaukhtu, is a stronghold of Myanmar’s anti-junta resistance. The YDF is also allied with the powerful Arakan Army (AA), which exercises control over Chin State’s Paletwa Township and has been fighting the Myanmar military for full territorial control of Rakhine State since November 2023. The CNF/A is a long-established organisation, first formed in 1988, but has historically had a small membership, estimated at only a few hundred before Myanmar’s 2021 military coup. The group was a signatory of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) of 2015 but has since resumed fighting against the Myanmar military. “We didn't intend to arrest them. We just called them in for questioning and are holding them temporarily,” CNA spokesperson Salai Htet Ni said. He added that the CNA had summoned and held the YDF members to enquire about their involvement in relations among armed anti-junta groups in Chin State's Matupi Township. “There are disagreements between us and the AA in the capture of the military council’s army camp in southern Chin State,” Salai Htet Ni said. “We've seen that the resistance forces from the Yaw area are cooperating with the AA. Regarding this, we've called in their leaders to discuss the situation. It's not an arrest, we are holding them briefly to make enquiries,” Salai Htet Ni said. The Chin Brothers alliance—joined by other anti-junta groups such as the AA, Yaw Army, and YDF—took effective control of Matupi Township including two junta battalion bases and a tactical camp, on June 29. While the Chin lands of northwestern Myanmar have long been a stronghold of armed resistance against the Myanmar military, tensions among Chin armed groups have been escalating for months. The CNA, joined by various other Chin resistance groups, led the drafting of a constitution establishing a governing body called the Chinland Council. At the same time, groups that did not participate in forming the Chinland Council have built a closer cooperative relationship with the AA. These groups include most members of the Chin Brothers alliance: the Chin National Council (Mindat), Chin National Organisation (CNO), Zomi Federal Union (ZFU), Chinland Defence Force (Kanpetlet), Chinland Defense Force (Matupi) Brigade 1, and Maraland Territorial Council (MTC). The YDF spokesperson denied his organisation’s involvement in disputes between Chin anti-junta organisations in Matupi Township. "If we’re asked for help to fight the military council, whether it's Chin Brothers or other organisations asking for assistance, we'll fight the military council if we're in a position to help,” he said. “This is for the downfall of the military dictatorship. However, we are not involved in problems between the various groups.” The YDF is calling for the release of its detained members, the spokesperson said, adding that further discussions can only take place after they are freed. The officer of a Gangaw Township-based People’s Defence Organisation—which operates under the command of the publicly mandated National Unity Government—said that his group was helping to mediate negotiations regarding the detainees but did not give further details.

Chin armed group detains two Yaw Defence Force members

The long-established Chin National Army, which is involved in disputes with other Chin anti-junta groups, claimed its only intention was to hold the Magway Region-based resistance fighters temporarily for questioning

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