The ruling State Administration Council (SAC) has killed hundreds of people, including 24 children, in Chin State since seizing power in a military coup nearly three years ago, according to the Institute of Chin Affairs (ICA).
ICA deputy director Salai Van Sui San said that 217 people (38 women, 179 men) were killed by the Burma army between 1 February 2021, and 1 October, 2023. Some were killed by artillery shelling, jet fighters, airships, and landmine explosions. Others were shot or tortured to death by SAC troops.
Salai Van Sui San said that after extensively documenting these war crimes, the world must not ignore it. “The international community needs to consider how to take effective action against the military council,” he said.
The ICA also documented SAC troops abducting 134 civilians to use as porters, guides, and human shields on patrols in the state. Former editor and founder of Khonumthung News and Burma News International, Pu Tuidim, was arrested, along with 10 other civilians, on the Matupi-Hakha Road between Kelong and Lonelaw villages in Matupi Township on January 6, 2022. SAC troops used them as human shields during their maneuvers and subsequently killed all of them.
At least six women were gang-raped and then murdered by regime soldiers.
Additionally, troops have arrested 1,000 people in the state and charged many of them with various offenses. Of these, 500 remain imprisoned until now, and two people have died in jail.
Salai Van Sui San said the specific numbers of prisoners of conscience are difficult to quantify.
“They are still arresting people in Chin State,” he explained.
There are about 10,000 people internally displaced by the war in the state, and these numbers also continue to increase in 2023, he said.
ICA reported that SAC has burned over 2,100 civilian houses and buildings in the state and flown airstrikes at least 63 times, with many of these targeting civilians.
More than 60,000 Chin refugees have taken shelter in India’s Mizoram State, while over 1,000 Chins have fled to New Delhi and to other states of the country. In Malaysia, there are up to 10,000 refugees from Chin State.