A 16-year-old fighter from the Chinland Defence Force (CDF) was killed during a shootout with junta soldiers in Kanpetlet Township on Sunday, as clashes continued after more than a month of relative calm.
Salai Sithu Aung was part of a group of some 13 CDF fighters who fought off a column of 70 junta troops who tried to enter the township near Apaw village in the town of Kyin Dway at around 8am, a spokesperson for the resistance group said.
It is unclear how many casualties there were on the junta’s side.
“They ran into our troops while trying to enter Kanpetlet township and we clashed,” the spokesperson said, requesting anonymity.
The CDF now fears the military will employ heavy artillery in upcoming battles.
The CDF fighters retreated with Salai Sithu Aung’s body while the junta soldiers fell back to Apaw village. The boy was cremated on Monday.
The last battle between the Kanpetlet branch of the CDF and the military was in early December.
There was a friendly fire incident following an internal dispute in the military on January 8. On December 13 a Christian pastor was found dead in Kanpetlet two days after he was detained by junta soldiers.
Soldiers were still stationed at Apaw village on Monday morning but there were no further clashes, the CDF spokesperson said.
In the town of Kanpetlet, around 300 soldiers are stationed at a school, a pagoda, a police station, and the office of a local education official. The soldiers have not left the town and CDF forces have not tried to enter.
But the “situation could change anytime,” the spokesperson said. “Huge battles are going to break out very soon. We are preparing as best we can as they have a lot of manpower.”
Also on Sunday, a 31-year-old CDF fighter died during a clash with the military in Falam, and a battalion commander with the Matupi CDF was killed in a separate clash.
On Saturday two other resistance fighters–a member of the Zoland People’s Defence Force (PDF) and a member of Chin National Army (CNA)–died in an accidental explosion near Hiangzing village in Tedim Township.
Resistance forces across Chin State say they are bracing for a major offensive by the junta after dozens of military vehicles, including tanks, began entering the state from the north and south earlier this month.
