The military has deployed thousand of troops to Chin and is expected to launch major offensives aimed at wiping out the armed resistance there.
Chin resistance fighters destroyed half the vehicles in a military convoy travelling along a mountain road towards the state capital of Hakha last week, forcing the survivors to halt their advance and set up camp at a village along the way.
The convoy of 35 military trucks and two tanks left the northern town of Falam on October 8 as part of a big push by the junta to reinforce its positions in the state. The convoy moved slowly over several days as it swept for landmines along the treacherous route to Hakha.
On Thursday, fighters from the Chin National Army (CNA), a longstanding rebel group, and the recently formed Chin National Defense Force (CNDF) attacked the convoy with landmines and a shootout ensued, a CNDF spokesperson said.
No military vehicles were destroyed in that clash, but resistance fighters attacked again on Saturday near the village of Talanrawn, destroying seven vehicles and killing at least four soldiers while injuring another 15.
Then on Sunday fighters from the Chinland Defence Force (CDF) destroyed another nine vehicles during a clash on Sunday near Taal village, which is three miles from Talanrawn and 28 miles from Falam. The remaining vehicles and soldiers have now set up camp in Taal.
“I think they decided to station in Taal as they couldn’t move forward. We now have them surrounded in every direction,” a CDF spokesperson told Myanmar Now on Monday morning.
He added that his group did not know how many soldiers were travelling in the convoy.
The junta has since early October sent thousands of troops to upper Myanmar in preparation for what Chin resistance fighters fear will be an attempt to wipe them out with major offensives.
The troops are entering Chin via two main routes, with one group travelling in separate columns to Falam and Hakha from the Sagaing Region town of Kalay in the north, and another heading to the town of Mindat from Magway Region’s Pakokku in the south.
On Wednesday night and Thursday morning, soldiers travelling in the convoy torched 12 houses in Talanrawn and burned down all ten houses and a church that made up the nearby village of Rialti, the CNDF said.
Military units left Hakha on Thursday to try to clear the way for the convoy travelling from Falam, but resistance fighters intercepted the units as they left the capital, said Salai Htet Ni, a spokesperson of the Chin National Front (CNF), the CNA’s political wing.
The CNDF, issued a statement the same day warning civilians not to use the road connecting Falam and Hakha except in life or death situations, adding that junta soldiers travelling the route were using human shields.
Further south, the CDF in Mindat said it wanted to attack a convoy of 64 military trucks and two tanks on Saturday but was unable to because of bad weather. The convoy is travelling northwest to Matupi and was about 20 miles from Mindat as of Monday, a CDF spokesperson there said.
“The rain has been too heavy lately and there was fog. It’s also extremely cold. Both us and them are at a disadvantage so there has been no clash yet,” he said.
Like the convoy from Falam, the convoy heading to Matupi is travelling slowly while it sweeps for landmines, which the resistance have used to inflict heavy casualties on junta forces.
A separate military column of some 70 soldiers left Matupi on Saturday to clear the path for the approaching convoy and has already reached the border with Mindat Township, the Matupi CDF said.
The soldiers have been firing shells along the way and on Saturday shrapnel from one of the explosions killed a six-year-old girl.
“They were aiming at the places where they thought we’d be,” said a spokesperson for the Matupi CDF, adding that his group has been waiting for an opportunity to attack the column.
“The column coming from Mindat is bringing lots of supplies and weapons,” he said. “The same could be said about the column coming from Matupi. We’re guessing they’re going to meet each other very soon.”
The Matupi CDF said in a statement on Friday that it would take action against any people or organisations supporting the junta, including companies helping to repair the road between Mindat and Matupi.
Every township in Chin except Hakha has been under a military-imposed internet blackout since September 23.
Resistance fighters say the junta is about to launch major offensives in the state.
“The battles are going to escalate very soon. I would like to urge the locals to get as much security as they can,” said Salai Htet Ni, the CNF spokesperson. “We promise to reduce collateral damage as much as possible.”
source myanmar-now