Chin National Army, allies fight for control of Kalay-Gangaw road

The Chin National Army (CNA) and allied forces have seized five junta outposts in the last two months on a segment of the Kalay-Gangaw road running along the Chin State-Sagaing Region border, with the aim of taking full control of the road. The road also connects Chin State and Sagaing Region with the nearby Gangaw Township, the northernmost township of Magway Region. The allies fighting alongside the CNA—the armed wing of the ethnic political organisation Chin National Front—include the Chinland Defence Force of Kalay, Kabaw, and Gangaw (CDF-KKG), and other resistance groups including CDF-Hakha, CDF-Thantlang, Yaw Region Liberation Alliance, the Hantharwady People’s Defence Team, the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), and various Kalay-based resistance groups. The coalition of forces took over the Ka Bar Ni outpost and the villages of Hman Taw, Aung Thar Yar East, and Aung Thar Yar West on the vital route in February, and more recently captured the Kyan Thar village outpost on April 11. “Before the capture of these outposts, the route between Gangaw and Kalay was indirect, requiring travel from Kalay to Falam, then through Hakha to reach Gangaw,” a spokesperson for the CDF-KKG said. “Now we can reach Gangaw in a single day, just like before, which greatly benefits transportation and trade.” Capture of the Kan Bar Ni outpost The Kan Bar Ni outpost, which was the most heavily fortified among those captured by the anti-junta fighters, had 80 junta soldiers defending it, joined by some members of the junta-armed and -trained Pyu Saw Htee militias. The CNA and their allies succeeded in taking it on February 12. Soon after the military took power in Myanmar’s 2021 coup, a unit of junta troops was stationed near the Kan Bar Ni Bridge some 30 miles south of Kalay, Sagaing Region near Kalay Township’s Se Taw village. The small garrison retreated under attack from the CNA-led anti-junta forces. Last year, the Myanmar army set up heavily fortified bunkers near the Kan Bar Ni Bridge construction site and strengthened its position with fresh reinforcement troops. The military also carried out airstrikes and deployed Pyu Saw Htee militia members in addition to these reinforcements when the position came under attack, according to members of the CDF-KKG. “There were many bunkers and trenches, and they conducted several airstrikes. Reinforcements from Kyan Thar and Hman Taw also provided support. The battle was intense, with both Y-12 aircraft and fighter jets carrying out simultaneous airstrikes,” another CDF-KKG spokesperson said of the Kan Bar Ni clash. Hla Swe, a retired lieutenant colonel and member of parliament for the military proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), posted on social media that the junta had lost the Kan Bar Ni base despite the air support, weapons, and reinforcements provided to them. Captures continue into April After seizing the Kan Bar Ni base, resistance forces reportedly attacked and took control of junta outposts in Hman Taw, Aung Thar Yar West, and Aung Thar Yar East, which had also received reinforcements from the Pyu Saw Htee militias. On the morning of April 11, resistance forces launched an assault on Kyan Thar village and successfully seized the junta outpost there within hours. The ABSDF released a report, along with photographs, detailing the large stockpile of weapons and ammunition seized during the assaults. Resistance fighters said the army and militias had attempted to retake the camps in a series of 19 counterattacks including airstrikes over two months, causing 15 civilian deaths and more than 40 injuries. The ABSDF reported that one of its personnel was killed at Kan Bar Ni, and that a platoon commander and six other comrades died in the clash for Kyan Thar. The CDF-KKG and other anti-junta forces also acknowledged incurring casualties but did not give exact figures. The junta forces are regrouping in villages in neighbouring Gangaw Township, Magway Region dominated by the Pyu Saw Htee militias, according to a CDF-KKG spokesperson. “They are regrouping and preparing thoroughly in Han Thar Wa Di and Myauk Khin Yan,” he said. “At the moment, we cannot confirm whether they plan to attack to retake the area or set up a permanent defensive base.” Although resistance forces are firmly established in Kalay and Gangaw townships, roughly 10 villages situated on the Myittha River—between the south side of Kalay and the northern outskirts of Gangaw, Magway Region—remain effectively under the control of pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militias.

Chin National Army, allies fight for control of Kalay-Gangaw road

The route serves as a strategically important corridor through an area where Chin State, Sagaing Region, and Magway Region meet

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