Four air attacks carried out on Monday against a Chin National Front (CNF) base located near Myanmar’s border with India did not result in any damage or casualties, according to the group.
CNF spokesperson Salai Htet Ni told Myanmar Now that the CNF Brigade 3 base, located about 10km from the state capital Hakha, was bombed by two fighter jets at around 2pm.
“No one was injured and everyone is safe, as we built our base to withstand such attacks. There wasn’t any fighting taking place. They just decided to bomb us for no reason,” he said.
He added that there were also two reconnaissance flights over the area immediately prior to the attacks.
“They only started dropping the bombs after they scouted the area twice. They went all the way up to our central command,” he said, adding that more attacks were expected.
On Tuesday, the Chin Human Rights Organization posted leaked documents on Twitter that showed the military’s plans for airstrikes on Camp Victoria, the CNF’s command centre.
Despite being a signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement reached in 2015, the CNF was among the first ethnic armed groups in Myanmar to join forces with the anti-regime National Unity Government in the wake of last year’s coup.
Other groups formed in Chin State since the military takeover, including the Chinland Defence Force, have also been the target of airstrikes.
The regime has been trying to retake parts of northern Chin State controlled by local resistance forces since they destroyed the strategically important Thee Bridge, located on the road connecting Hakha to Thantlang, late last year.
In mid-October, junta forces launched a series of assaults between Hakha and Thantlang. During the ensuing clashes, which continued for a full week, the military carried out multiple airstrikes, resistance sources said.
Fighting in the area is expected to intensify in the coming months, the sources added, noting that the regime appears to be preparing for a dry-season offensive.
