Rival Chin groups agree to form unified ‘Chin National Council’ after years of tension

Representatives of the Chinland Council and Interim Chin National Consultative Council (ICNCC) signed an agreement on Wednesday to form a new, unified body called the Chin National Council. The negotiations that preceded the agreement between the two rival groups, whose relations with one another have been tense for some years, were mediated by Lalduhoma, the head of government of the Indian state of Mizoram, which shares a border with Chin State. Chief Minister Lalduhoma was present as the agreement was concluded on Wednesday in Aizawl, Mizoram. The Advocacy Group for Peace, formed under his direction, has been entrusted with overseeing the unification of the two Chin forces in the newly established political organisation. Although the Chinland Council operated as a coalition of several groups, the long-established group Chin National Front (CNF) and its armed wing, the Chin National Army (CNA), played a leading role and dominated the council’s membership. The groups making up the ICNCC are the Chin National Organisation and its armed wing the Chin National Defence Force (CNO/CNDF); the Maraland Territorial Council and its armed wing the Maraland Defence Force (MTC/MDF); the Zomi Federal Union; Chin National Council (Mindat); Chinland Defence Force (Kanpetlet); and Chinland Defense Force (Matupi) Brigade 1. The armed wings of the ICNCC member groups comprise the Chin Brothers or Chin Brotherhood alliance, which is allied with the Arakan Army (AA). The AA controls Chin State’s Paletwa Township as well as most of Rakhine State after capturing territory from the Myanmar military in an ongoing offensive that began in November 2023.Both the Chinland Council and ICNCC agreed to merge into the Chin National Council after accepting having two governing councils making competing claims to jurisdiction in Chin State is not appropriate, according to a joint statement released by the signatories on Wednesday.“We’ve agreed in principle to form a single Chin National Council because we don’t want the division between the two councils to continue,” said Salai Bawi Oak, a member of the ICNCC secretariat, before adding, “The details of the process haven’t been discussed or agreed upon yet.”Among the stipulations of the agreement is the formation of a drafting committee for a Chin national constitution.“We haven’t yet determined how many people will be on the drafting committee or who will be included. There’s no set timeline yet for the unification process,” Salai Bawi Oak said. “Since these two groups have followed different political paths, it will take time to negotiate. That could be the greatest challenge.”According to a “Reconciliation Agreement” released on February 26 in the Mizo Chin language, the Chinland Council’s delegation at the talks was led by Salai Men Nyo, Thang Ning Kee, and Jacob V. Zawma, while the ICNCC and Chin Brotherhood were represented by Salai Lian Luai, Salai Hosea, and Nay Lin Aung. Two factions of Chin anti-junta forces signed an agreement in Aizawl, Mizoram State on February 26, 2025 to end internal conflict and establish a Chin National Council representing all anti-junta groups (Photo - Supplied) Myanmar Now is still attempting to reach the spokesperson for the CNF/CNA for detailed comments on the agreement, and the matter of how the groups will achieve unification practically despite tensions among them in the past. Disputes between the groups over territory and jurisdiction led to one faction’s members detaining the other’s, shootouts, and the deaths of two CNA members in early 2024. The publicly mandated National Unity Government (NUG) released a statement today welcoming the plan to establish the Chin National Council and its representation of all Chin people.The challenges for unificationThe practical process of merging the existing Chin anti-junta groups into a single council is likely to present substantial challenges, according to Chin political analyst Salai Dokhar. “I believe the actual structure can be drafted in a short time,” he said. “However, if the Chin Brotherhood accepted this only because they were facing pressure from the Mizoram side and couldn’t refuse, then finding complex solutions during future negotiations will be even more difficult.”Anti-junta forces have grown stronger in Chin State in the four years since Myanmar’s military coup, now holding an estimated 80 percent of the highly rural state’s area under its control. The Chin Brotherhood controls three of the state’s nine townships—Matupi, Mindat, and Kanpetlet in southern Chin State—while their ally the AA controls Paletwa Township, the southernmost township in the state.The CNF/CNA are in control of Tonzang Township in the north of the state. The Myanmar military still controls the state’s administrative capital, Hakha, and the urban centres of Thantlang, Falam, and Tedim townships, but clashes for control of Falam have been ongoing since last November. However, the groups remain divided despite their strength and territorial gains, with other internal territorial disputes arising in addition to the tensions between the CNF/CNA and Chin Brotherhood.In late January of this year, territorial disputes between the Chinland Defence Forces of Lautu (CDF-Lautu) and the Maraland Defence Force (MDF) led to intense fighting with casualties on both sides.“There are many compromises to be made and understandings to be built," said Salai Dokhar. “This is because after the rifts occurred, there was bloodshed between the groups and various forms of political sabotage. So in my view there is still quite a lot of give-and-take to negotiate. I think people will be anxiously hoping for a final outcome, a truly complete unification,” he added.In what may be an even greater challenge than the friction that remains among the forces fighting the military, nearly half of Chin State’s population of 500,000 has been displaced in the four years since the coup. More than 65,000 are living as refugees in India, according to the civil society group Institute of Chin Affairs. According to a statement released by the group, 965 Chin people have been killed by Myanmar’s military, including 491 civilians and 474 anti-junta fighters. The ruling military council has not responded to these claims. The Reconciliation Agreement reached by the anti-junta Chin groups, resolving to establish a unified Chin National Council

Rival Chin groups agree to form unified ‘Chin National Council’ after years of tension

In talks brokered by the chief minister of neighbouring Mizoram, India, two armed factions of anti-junta Chin forces agreed to merge their political activities in one governing body

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