Resistance fighters in Hakha and Falam say they killed around 40 regime soldiers and police officers on Tuesday, as fierce clashes continued in Chin State even while a temporary ceasefire was observed in the southern town of Mindat.
Roughly half of the casualties happened when the Hakha branch of the Chinland Defense Force (CDF) attacked the Bonzum Police Station in the morning. Soldiers and police were killed during five hours of fighting there, the CDF said.
One CDF fighter was injured in the clash, the group added.
The attack was a response to the local police force’s illegal logging in the area, its support of the military dictatorship and its threats against the general public, a CDF spokesperson told Myanmar Now.
“The situation is calm now. But yesterday evening they picked up the bodies of the dead and they took back their injured personnel,” the spokesperson said on Wednesday. About 40 soldiers and policemen in two trucks were deployed to the area after the clash, he added.
In Falam on the same day there was a mutual shootout between the local CDF chapter and regime forces that lasted for about two hours. Members of the CDF were met with a large number of regime forces but killed 20 and injured many others, the group said.
Four members of the CDF were killed and three others were injured, the Falam chapter of the group said in a statement.
Following intense fighting in Mindat, the regime reached a ceasefire agreement with CDF fighters there on June 23. Tens of thousands of people were displaced in the township amid fighting last month.
Chin State has emerged as one of the strongholds of guerilla-style resistance to mass killings by the junta. Civilians have also taken up arms to attack regime targets in Kanpetlet, Thantlang, and Tedim.
According to the CDF, the Myanmar military has suffered heavy casualties at the hands of locals who are familiar with the state’s mountainous terrain and well-trained at shooting their hunting rifles.
“The current situation in Hakha is that the death toll from the military council’s side has risen to 56 since May 2,” the spokesperson said. “And 215 members of the junta’s forces have been killed in the whole of Chin State.”
“On the CDF’s side, if the casualties in Falam are added, a total of 35 CDF members have been killed,” he said.
He added that fighting was likely to continue and urged the public to be vigilant and avoid sharing unsubstantiated news on social media.
Myanmar Now has been unable to independently confirm the number of casualties from the fighting in Chin State.
