Food scarce for orphans, prisoners’ families in Chin Brothers alliance custody

Children have been left orphaned, sick, and in need of food after the takeover of Matupi, Chin State by the Chin Brothers alliance last month, according to members of the Chinland Defence Forces of Matupi (CDF-Matupi) providing aid to them. The Chin Brothers alliance forces, which claim to have 50 junta troops and 70 of their relatives in custody following clashes for control of Matupi, said they were providing food and care to the malnourished and sick children among the captives. According to a spokesperson for CDF-Matupi Brigade 1—one of the member groups of the alliance—some of the family members of junta soldiers suffered or even died from exposure and hunger after fleeing into the woods from Matupi during the battles for the town. Some were travelling with children, who were left orphaned when their parents succumbed to harsh conditions or starved while on the run, the CDF-Matupi spokesperson told Myanmar Now. The group posted an interview with two of the orphaned children on the CDF-Matupi Brigade 1 Facebook page on July 20. In the video, a young boy and young girl who had been staying at the Myanmar army’s Infantry Battalion 140 base in Matupi Township tell an interviewer about the lack of sufficient food and medical supplies. The girl says she did not eat for nine consecutive days while on the run in the woods. The CDF-Matupi also claimed it was treating some of the junta soldiers’ children for rashes on their feet from ringworm. The CDF-Matupi spokesperson could not give an exact number of children who had been orphaned, saying only that the age range of the children in their custody was between infancy and 17 years old. “There are 18-month-olds as well as preteens. There are around 10 children under the age of 10,” the spokesperson said, adding that although they were giving food and medical care to the children now, they had not determined how to provide for them in the long term. "In the long run, what will we do? When all the people displaced by the war resettle in the towns and villages, there may be some who want to adopt them. We will have to revisit the matter later to come to that decision,” he said. Yaw Marn, a spokesperson for the Chin Brothers alliance, said that some relatives of the orphaned children had contacted them asking to hand the children over to their care. “There were a few relatives that communicated with us because they wanted to bring the orphaned children to us,” Yaw Marn said. “We will have to return them to their relatives’ care but for the time being, we are keeping them safe and sound here without any restrictions.” According to the CDF-Matupi Brigade 1 spokesperson, before the takeover of Matupi the group handed its prisoners of war over to the publicly mandated National Unity Government (NUG). He said they would continue to cooperate with the NUG’s ministry of defence with regard to the treatment of prisoners of war. He added that they needed additional provisions for the junta prisoners and their family members in their custody, and were already sharing their own rations and supplies with them. “We have to share supplies with these prisoners of war: blankets, clothes, and medicine bought with donations from civilians. So we need a lot of help,” he added. The Chin Brothers alliance forces initiated attacks on a two junta battalion bases and a tactical base in Matupi Township on June 9 of this year, managing to seize the Light Infantry Battalion 304 base by June 17 and the remaining bases by June 29, taking full control of Matupi. Following the clashes, tensions remain high between the junta and Chin anti-junta forces, and both have restricted travel in the territories impacted by fighting. According to Chin man providing aid to refugees in the Indian state of Mizoram, there are currently more than 3,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Matupi Township. His organisation was unable to transport supplies to them from Mizoram, he said, because Myanmar junta forces had restricted access to the area. Although junta officials in Chin State had “paid lip service” to allowing the transport of badly needed supplies to the IDPs, they were not allowing it in practice, he added. Another man assisting IDPs in Matupi Township said his humanitarian group had received only 10 million kyat (US $3,080) in donations for more than 3,000 IDPs, and that the need for more support was urgent. Myanmar Now has made multiple attempts to reach military council officials in Chin State with enquiries about the restriction of humanitarian access, but all calls have gone unanswered. The Chin Brothers Alliance was formed in December 2023, and comprises the Chin National Council (Mindat), Chin National Organisation, Zomi Federal Union, Chinland Defence Force of Kanpetlet, CDF-Matupi Brigade 1, and Maraland Territorial Council. Another alliance of Chin armed groups led by the Chin National Army and its political wing, the Chin National Front, is also engaged in armed resistance against junta rule in Chin State. However, the CNA-led alliance operates under separate chain of command from the Chin Brothers, and the groups are not mutually allied.

Food scarce for orphans, prisoners’ families in Chin Brothers alliance custody

Fleeing into the Chin Hills from Matupi after a takeover by Chin Brothers fighters, some family members of junta soldiers died on the journey, leaving their children orphaned

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