Chin resistance braces for Myanmar junta offensive as Mindat hit by airstrikes

Myanmar’s military carried out at least three waves of airstrikes on the southern Chin State town of Mindat beginning late Monday, escalating its offensive in the western state as resistance forces brace for renewed attacks. Residents said two fighter jets struck Mindat and nearby areas Monday night, followed by additional airstrikes around 8am and 11am Tuesday. “It’s right inside the town areas,” a Mindat resident told Myanmar Now on Tuesday. “I heard there are casualties. Two planes last night, one earlier this morning, and one just now.” Local reports indicated there were deaths and injuries from the attacks, though the Mindat Township People’s Administration Organisation had not released official casualty figures as of Tuesday evening. Mindat, formerly home to the junta’s Infantry Battalion 274, was seized by the Chin Brotherhood Alliance in December 2024. Some displaced residents had since returned to the town. The Chin Brotherhood controls Mindat, Kanpetlet, and Matupi townships, all situated along Chin State’s border with Magway Region, while the Arakan Army controls neighbouring Paletwa Township near Rakhine State. Together, the gains have left Myanmar’s military without control over southern Chin State. The junta has intensified efforts to retake lost territory in Chin State following its recapture of Falam, in the state’s north, in April. Since then, military reinforcements have been moving through Magway Region toward southern Chin State. In late April, nearly 200 junta troops established a base in Kan Gyi, a village in Magway’s Saw Township, according to local residents. Located near the town of Kyaukhtu, where the regime has an artillery base, Kan Gyi is also strategically located along a key trade route linking Magway Region and Chin and Rakhine states. Resistance groups said another junta column of nearly 600 troops was advancing from Magway’s Pauk Township along the Mindat-Pakokku road. A convoy of reinforcements from Kyaukpadaung in Mandalay Region reportedly passed through the area—stopping at military-run weapons factories along the way—earlier this month. A humanitarian official in Pauk Township said more than 6,000 residents from over 10 villages located near Directorate of Defence Industries Factory 24 had fled as the junta troops advanced. Displaced villagers flee the advance of junta troops in Magway Region’s Pauk Township (Photo: We Love Myaing) According to resistance forces, captured prisoners told interrogators the convoy was heading toward the Kyaukhtu artillery base, a key military installation near southern Chin State. In northern Chin State, resistance groups also reported increased military pressure near Tonzang, a town bordering India that has been controlled by Chin resistance forces since mid-2024. A source close to the Chin resistance said junta reinforcements were seen moving from Tedim toward Tonzang on Monday. “Two cars and their squad went toward Tonzang,” the source said. “The fighting will be quite intense before the rainy season.” The Chinland Defence Force in Tonzang warned civilians Sunday against travelling on the road linking Tedim and Tonzang due to the deteriorating security situation. Resistance forces said junta troops that recaptured Falam last month have also advanced along the Hakha-Falam road toward the Laiva Dam area. Salai Naing John Kee, spokesperson for the Chinland Council’s Defence Department, said the military appeared to be preparing offensives across multiple access routes into Chin State. “There is a situation where they might launch offensives across the entire state,” he said. “They are working to send columns along on every road into Chin State.” He added that resistance groups were preparing to defend territory under their control. The junta also announced earlier this month that its commander-in-chief, General Ye Win Oo, discussed border security cooperation with the chief of the Indian Navy during talks in Naypyitaw. Resistance sources warned that closer cooperation between Myanmar and India could increase pressure on armed groups operating near the border and worsen conditions for displaced civilians. According to the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR, more than 3.5 million people have been displaced across Myanmar since the military seized power in a 2021 coup. More than 62,000 people have fled to India.

Chin resistance braces for Myanmar junta offensive as Mindat hit by airstrikes

Regime forces have been seen advancing toward resistance-held territories in both the south and the north of the state in recent weeks

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