Myanmar junta intensifies attacks along Chin-Magway border

A major junta offensive in Magway Region’s Saw Township, near the border with southern Chin State, is forcing thousands of civilians to flee amid intensifying airstrikes and ground assaults, local resistance groups and residents said. Myanmar army columns have been advancing towards the border area from southern Saw Township and neighbouring Pauk Township in recent weeks, sources told Myanmar Now. The area is considered strategically important because it connects central Myanmar’s Magway Region to Chin and Rakhine states. An official from Yaw Alinn Tan, a local group monitoring military activity in northern Magway’s Yaw region, of which Saw Township is a part, said the scale of the operation was unprecedented. “They have never launched an offensive into the Yaw region with such large numbers before,” the official said, estimating the combined troop strength at around 1,000 soldiers. On Tuesday, a column of roughly 500 troops from Directorate of Defence Industries (DDI) Factory 25 arrived in Laung Shey, a village in southern Saw Township, local residents said. About 150 soldiers reportedly remained behind in Laung Shey while the rest continued on to the town of Saw, about 11 miles to the north. Meanwhile, another column has been approaching Saw Township from DDI Factory 24 in neighbouring Pauk Township, travelling west across the Ponetaung mountain range, according to local resistance forces. Last week, allied resistance forces repeatedly hit the column, which reportedly includes troops deployed from Mandalay Region, in a series of ambushes. Gateway to Chin State A resistance official in Pauk Township said soldiers who defected from the column indicated the operation’s objective was to reach the town of Kyaukhtu, a strategic gateway to southern Chin State. The junta began sending reinforcements to the nearby village of Kan Gyi, located along a key trade route linking Magway Region and Chin and Rakhine states, in late April, locals said. Residents said the military build-up had forced the closure of the road from Saw to Kan Gyi, which continues on to Mindat, a resistance-held town in southern Chin State. In Saw Township, local resistance authorities have urged civilians living along sections of the road to evacuate to safer areas. In addition to ground operations, the military carried out repeated airstrikes in the region, according to local monitoring groups. A Y-12 aircraft conducted eight attacks in the Kyaukhtu area on Wednesday morning, while three fighter jets dropped bombs during six separate strikes, the Yaw Alinn Tan official said. Airstrikes also targeted areas along the border of Pauk and Saw townships, as well as Pauk’s border with Myaing Township, according to the local monitoring group We Love Myaing. Thousands of civilians have fled villages in Saw Township and surrounding areas amid the fighting. A humanitarian official in Pauk Township said about 8,000 people from villages southwest of DDI Factory 24 had been displaced. “There was a storm a few days ago, followed by a few days of light rain,” the official said. “When they have to relocate repeatedly, they face food shortages and transportation difficulties. Skin diseases are also common.” Moving on to Mindat Resistance groups in Chin State said the military offensive appeared aimed at re-establishing control over southern Chin State and cutting resistance supply routes into Rakhine State. A source close to local resistance forces said that the junta columns converging on Kyaukhtu would likely target Mindat, some 20 miles to the west, next. “We assume that after attacking Saw, all those forces will combine and advance up to Mindat as well,” he said. Earlier this week, the regime carried out successive waves of airstrikes on Mindat, which has been under the control of the Chin Brotherhood Alliance since December 2024. The escalation comes despite recent comments by junta leader Min Aung Hlaing calling on ethnic armed organisations to engage in peace talks and urging People’s Defence Forces to surrender within 100 days of his assumption of the presidency. Far from moving towards peace, the military has instead intensified its offensives nationwide in an effort to regain lost territory, resistance sources said. Recent fighting has forced resistance groups to withdraw from several towns, including Falam in northern Chin State and Tigyaing, Indaw, and Maw Luu in Sagaing Region.

Myanmar junta intensifies attacks along Chin-Magway border

Waves of airstrikes and a massive build-up of ground troops in the area appear to be aimed at retaking control of southern Chin State

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