The Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA), an armed group based on the Myanmar-India border, attacked a camp set up by anti-regime forces in Chin State’s Tedim Township last week, according to members of the resistance group.
No casualties were reported in the attack, which took place on September 21.
“One of our members was captured on his way back to his home village and tortured until he revealed the location of our camp. When we learned about this, we fled the area,” said a member of the group.
The camp had been set up by ethnic Hualngo youths as preparation for the formation of an anti-junta defence force. Around 20 people were undergoing training there.
In addition to the defence group member, who was kidnapped on September 14, four other youths from his home village were also assaulted, the Hualngo youth told Myanmar Now.
“Three of them were beaten up and then released, but the other two were blindfolded and taken into the forest. They were so badly beaten that they were covered in blood and couldn’t walk after they were released,” he said.
Two of the youths also had slash marks on their faces that required medical treatment at a hospital on the Indian side of the border, he added.
This was the third attack carried out by the ZRA against local anti-regime forces in the past four months, according to sources in Tedim.
The first was on May 22, when the ZRA attacked a camp run by Tedim youths and seized five guns and destroyed other items, such as mobile phones and cameras, worth around 3m kyat.
The second attack was on June 16, when it overran another camp operated by local resistance fighters and seized weapons and other items, including a generator, diesel tanks, and medicine.
On June 20, the Chin Defence Force (CDF) released a statement warning that it would retaliate against such attacks. The latest incident was also condemned by the CDF.
“To achieve our goal, everyone needs to take part in this revolution. It was a really low move for [the ZRA] to attack another group just because they weren’t working for them. We need to talk and figure out a way to win this war against the dictatorship together,” said John, a CDF spokesperson.
Attempts to reach a ZRA spokesperson for comment went unanswered.
The ZRA has been active along the Chin-India border for more than two decades. In 2005, it reached a ceasefire agreement with the Indian government, and it is currently based in the Indian state of Manipur.
In April, it released a statement announcing that it would join the fight against Myanmar’s military dictatorship.
