ZRA attacked in Tedim after alleged meeting with junta officials

The Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA), a group accused of carrying out multiple attacks on anti-regime forces in Chin State in recent months, was itself attacked on Friday after allegedly meeting with military officials, according to local sources.

Locals said that two civilians were injured in the attack, which took place in Ngawsing (Ngalzang), a village in Chin State’s Tedim Township, early Friday morning.

“Two villagers were shot, one in the arm and the other twice in the thigh,” said a Ngawsing resident who spoke to Myanmar Now on condition of anonymity.

“Around 20 or 30 CNF soldiers on motorcycles surrounded the area,” he added, referring to the Chin National Front, an ethnic armed group that has been cooperating with anti-regime resistance forces that have emerged in Chin State since the coup in February.

Both sides suffered casualties in the attack, according to unconfirmed reports. No further details were available at the time of reporting.

The attack comes less than two weeks after the ZRA was accused of assassinating Cin Sian Sum, a leader of People’s Defence Force Zoland, earlier this month.

The ZRA denied responsibility for the killing, calling the accusations “groundless”.

Salai Htet Ni, a spokesperson for the CNF, said the attack was prompted not only by the ZRA’s hostile actions against anti-regime forces, but also by evidence that it was actively colluding with the junta.

“They were seen meeting with representatives of the military council before this battle. That’s why we started attacking them. It was only for our own safety,” he said.

He added, however, that the ZRA’s motives, and its relationship with the regime, were still not entirely clear.

“We condemn any action that hinders the anti-dictatorship movement. It’s so hard to figure out if the ZRA is collaborating with the military council,” he said.

The ZRA, which was formed in 1993 as an ethnic armed group but later transformed into a border guard force based in the Indian State of Manipur, continues to maintain a significant presence in northwestern Chin State.

In an interview conducted via email, the group told Myanmar Now that it was in Ngawsing to meet with “influential persons” when it came under attack from around 50 CNF soldiers on Friday.

In April, the ZRA announced that it would join the nationwide struggle against the regime that had seized power two months earlier. 

By June, however, it had released another statement saying that it would not allow any other armed group to form within its territory, after attacking two camps operated by local youths opposed to the regime.

Following another attack on September 21, the Chinland Defence Force, one of the groups formed since the coup, warned that it would take serious action against the ZRA if it continued to “bully” the local defence forces.

On Saturday, the ZRA accused the CNF of torturing a Christian pastor and two families from Haimual, a village in Tedim Township.

The CNF, which was one of the signatories to the now-defunct Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, denied the charge.

“We did take some people from a local defence force for questioning, but we later released them. We are not holding anyone captive,” said Salai Htet Ni.