Since the 1 February 2021 Myanmar coup, resistance forces have captured 15 of the 20 towns in Chin State but 474 Chin resistance fighters have also been killed in the same period.
These details were part of a 1 February 2025 report by the Institute of Chin Affairs (ICA) titled “Myanmar military’s human rights abuses against Chins during the 4 years since the coup.” The report analyses the impact the junta’s human rights abuses have had on communities in Chin State.
Of the 474 resistance fighters who were killed, nine were women, according to the ICA report.
Explaining how the resistance fighters died, Salai Van Sui San, a spokesperson for the ICA said: “The death toll of resistance fighters is primarily due to combat, while the toll for female resistance members also includes deaths from health issues and airstrikes.”
According to the report, members of the Chin resistance were young individuals who “initially participated in peaceful protests against the Myanmar military’s illegal takeover. However, when the Myanmar junta violently cracked down on peaceful demonstrators, these youths were compelled to form resistance groups in various locations to fight against the military regime.”
The ICA report also revealed that since the coup the junta has killed 491 Chin civilians.
Over the same period the junta also dropped more than 1,061 bombs from planes and helicopters in 241 airstrikes on Chin State. These airstrikes killed 249 Chin people and injured a further 424. They also destroyed 1,280 houses, 38 government buildings, and 39 religious structures.
Salai Van Sui San of the ICA said: “When conducting airstrikes, the junta often deliberately targeted civilian areas instead of battlefields. We have observed a recent increase in air attacks aimed at urban and crowded areas. As a result, the number of civilians killed in these airstrikes has also risen. It is clear that the junta has been intentionally targeting civilians, not combat zones.
77 people have been killed by junta laid landmines in Chin State since the coup and a further 105 in the state have been injured by junta landmines. The ICA report explains the casualties from landmines by saying: “The Myanmar junta troops laid landmines along their attack routes but failed to remove them upon retreat.”
According to the ICA report, in total in Chin State since the coup, the junta has destroyed 3,479 houses. Of those, 784 were destroyed in 2021, 952 were destroyed in 2022, 407 in 2023, 1,301 in 2024 and so far in 2025, the junta has destroyed 35 more houses in Chin State.
Nearly half the population of Chin State has been displaced. According to the 2014 census 478,801 people were living in Chin State, but the ICA report says that since the coup about 65,000 people have fled from Chin State to India as refugees and a further about 130,000 have been displaced from their homes and are sheltering in other areas of Chin State.
The ICA report concludes by saying: “strong international action is necessary to hold the Myanmar military accountable for its violations of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian laws. Only through such measures can the Chin people and all other ethnic groups in Myanmar regain their fundamental rights and freedoms.”
The 15 towns in Chin State currently held by resistance forces are: Rihkhawdar, Rizua, Waibula, Hnaring, Surkhua, Paletwa, Samee, Kyindwe, Cikha, Tonzang, Matupi, Lailenpi, M’kuiimnu, Mindat, and Kanpetlet, according to the ICA.