Myanmar military seizes key hill position from Chin resistance

Myanmar junta forces have retaken control of the Taingen outpost in Chin State from the Chin resistance Civic Defense Militia Siyin, a key position along the road linking Sagaing Region to northern Chin State. The Taingen outpost lies at a key junction linking Falam—a town held by Chin resistance forces—with Tedim town in Chin State. The junta has declared its intention to hold elections, and Kale in Sagaing Region, which hosts the Regional Military Operations Command under the junta’s Northwestern Command.The area has been a frontline of fighting between Myanmar’s military and Chin resistance forces since the 2021 coup. Control of Taingen offers a tactical advantage over key transport routes linking Falam, Tedim, and Kale—towns now central to the junta’s push to reassert control in advance of its planned elections. The CDM (Civic Defense Militia) Siyin—not to be confused with the Civil Disobedience Movement—said the junta’s recapture of the outpost, which Chin resistance forces had held since January 2024, will severely disrupt local resistance operations in the area.“If the junta retains control of Taingen, it will be challenging for our resistance forces to deploy in large numbers to Tedim and Kale Towns,” an information officer of the Civic Defense Militia told Myanmar Now. Members of the Chinland Defense Force (CDF–CDM Siyin) take part in training and operations in 2023, as part of local resistance efforts against Myanmar’s military regime. (Photo: CDF–CDM Siyin) Local military analysts also say the junta’s intensified assault on the Taingen outpost is likely linked to its preparations for upcoming elections. Having lost control of more than half of Chin State, the regime plans to hold polls in towns still under its control, such as Hakha, Tedim, and Thantlang, as well as in contested resistance strongholds like Falam and Tonzang. Kale Township in neighboring Sagaing Region, bordering the Chin Hills, is also slated to take part.The junta recaptured Kennedy Peak on November 4, and with the takeover of the Taingen outpost, it now holds key positions along the Kale–Tedim Road. “On the night of November 7, they [the junta] stayed in Lay Htan Kone, sparking a small clash,” a spokesperson for the CDM said. “Rather than advancing along the highway, they marched via the hill road to Taingen and took positions atop the area near Tar War Taing on November 8. And then the next day they entered Taingen village and seized control.” In the third week of October, the junta airlifted nearly 500 troops to reinforce Infantry Battalion 269 in Tedim Town. From October 29, a large junta column moved toward Taingen along the Kale–Tedim Road, seemingly to prepare for the offensive. On November 7, the Chin Brotherhood reported that the junta column, which had taken civilians hostage, was intercepted by the Chin Brotherhood Alliance. The encounter sparked heavy fighting near Dimlo and Hsawngpi villages, resulting in the seizure of weapons and the rescue of 14 hostages. Resistance forces said that in late October, a junta column advancing from Kale toward Taingen stationed itself in Mualpi village, about 14 miles away. The troops’ movement prompted residents from at least nine villages in Tedim Township to flee their homes. The junta’s seizure of Taingen and other nearby positions marks a renewed push to reclaim territory in Myanmar’s northwest, where resistance forces have held significant ground for nearly two years. But with fighting continuing along the Kale–Tedim corridor, control of the region remains far from certain.

Myanmar military seizes key hill position from Chin resistance

The Taingen outpost, linking Chin State’s Falam and Tedim towns, had been under Chin resistance control since early 2024

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