Chin resistance forces clash after seizing Falam from Myanmar junta

Clashes between rival Chin armed groups were reported in Chin State’s Falam Township last week, months after Myanmar’s military was forced to withdraw from its administrative centre. Fighting broke out on July 2 in several villages near the town of Falam, which was captured by the Chin Brotherhood, a coalition of ethnic Chin armed groups, in April of this year, sources there said. According to a spokesperson for the Chinland Defence Force (CDF)-Hualngoram, which belongs to the rival Chinland Council, one of its members was killed and 10 were captured in the fighting with the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF). “With full force and drones attacking, the CDF-Hualngoram comrades couldn’t withstand it and had to retreat. The tension continues,” the group’s spokesperson said. Salai Timmy Htut, spokesperson for the CNDF, confirmed that several CDF-Hualngoram fighters had been taken prisoner, but said he didn’t know the exact number. Since seizing power in February 2021, Myanmar’s military junta has faced fierce resistance in Chin State, losing around 80 percent of its territory. It currently controls only the state capital Hakha and Tedim and Thantlang townships. Falam, a town of more than 50,000 residents, is the second largest in the state. While the town is now under the control of the Chin Brotherhood—of which the CNDF is a member—the township of the same name includes Rihkhawdar, a trading town on the Indian border with over 6,000 residents. The CNF/CNA flag is seen flying over a border bridge in Rihkhawdar after the town’s capture by the group in November 2023 (Photo: Supplied) Rihkhawdar was captured in November 2023 by the Chin National Front/Chin National Army (CNF/CNA), an ethnic armed group formed in 1988. The CNF/CNA leads the Chinland Council, which has tense relations with the Chin Brotherhood and opposes the control of southern Chin State’s Paletwa Township by the Arakan Army. After Rihkhawdar was captured, CDF-Hualngoram claimed the town and surrounding villages as their territory, based on the presence of ethnic Hualngo people in the area. The fall of the town of Falam, which borders Rihkhawdar, to the Chin Brotherhood has led to tensions with the CDF-Hualngoram. According to CNDF spokesperson Salai Timmy Htut, such territorial disputes should be resolved after the regime is defeated. “For Chin State boundaries, boundaries in townships, we want to determine them in consultation with the people in the post-revolutionary period. In the current revolutionary period, the main focus should be on defeating and completely destroying the junta,” he said. Salai Htet Ni, spokesperson for the CNF/CNA, said the current tensions could delay the process of forming the Chin National Council, which the Chinland Council and Chin Brotherhood agreed earlier this year to establish in order to unite all Chin factions. “When both sides are negotiating, they need to work to build mutual trust and prove it. What’s happening now is regrettable... Both sides need to be magnanimous and consider the people as the most important,” he said. In a statement released on July 4, the Chin Brotherhood called on armed groups not to participate in the conflict between the CNDF and CDF-Hualngoram.

Chin resistance forces clash after seizing Falam from Myanmar junta

The clashes are seen as a setback to ongoing efforts to unify rival coalitions of armed groups operating in Chin State

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