Hundreds of new refugees have crossed the border into India’s Mizoram State to escape the escalating conflict between the regime and the Arakan Army (AA) in Paletwa Township, southern Chin State. The entire village of Myeikwa on the border with India fled fighting with the Burma Army (BA), which has been bombarding the area with fighter jets during clashes with AA. The BA flew two airstrikes on the village, says an aid worker who didn’t want to reveal his name. According to a committee helping civilians affected by the conflict, 589 people from Myeikwa have sought shelter in Lawngtlai Township…
Author: Editor
Three people, including a teenager, were injured when Burma Army soldiers (BA) opened fire after being attacked by the Kalay People’s Defence Force (PDF) while patrolling Kalay town in Sagaing Region. Members of the resistance group’s ‘urban guerrilla task force’ attacked two trucks carrying BA soldiers with landmines at around 7:30am on 10 September. Locals reported that the soldiers fired indiscriminately in all directions for 30 minutes after the attack. 18-year-old Maung Tawl Suam Pao suffered minor injuries to his leg while on his way to a training session. “After receiving medical attention, he was able to continue to his…
At least 60 junta soldiers have reportedly perished and many were wounded during battles with resistance forces in the Timit Valley over the past month. This is according to the Chin National Front, whose armed wing, the Chin National Army (CNA), is conducting ambushes with other armed groups in Chin State between Hakha and Thangtlang towns. The CNF reported that since 30 July, the Burma Army (BA) has sent many troops to repair the bridge over the Timit River, which was destroyed twice by resistance forces. The CNA, a special branch of the Chinland Joint Defence Force Committee and Thangtlaing,…
Four people were wounded after the Burma Army (BA) indiscriminately shelled a ward of Hakha during fighting with Chin resistance fighters in northern Chin State. The civilians were hurt after a shell hit a house while they were eating breakfast during the fighting, which broke out at 6am for two hours on 30 August. “The Chin resistance groups engaged in a gunfight with the BA at 6 Ways junction in Hakha Htar,” a local from the Chin State capital told Khonumthung News, asking that his name not be mentioned. The victims are receiving medical care at the Hakha Public Hospital.…
Fighting between Chin resistance and junta forces has been recurring in parts of northern Chin State for the past month, with reportedly heavy causalities for the Burma Army (BA), according the various armed groups who are employing hit-and-run attacks in the Thee Mit Valley between Hakha and Thangtlang townships. Since 30 July, junta troops have been deployed to repair a bridge on the Thee Mit River, where the Chin National Army (CNA) and other armed groups attack them daily. Salai Htet Ni, spokesperson for the Chin National Front (CNF), the political arm of the CNA, said that in late June,…
A woman was killed after stepping on a hidden landmine while searching for her missing husband, who’s the headmaster of a primary school in Paletwa Township located in southern Chin State. A man from Paletwa town, who requested anonymity, told Khonumthung News that Nang Lao Kham, 43, was searching for Khine Aye, who went missing a few days earlier in Abawng Thar while looking for bamboo shoots, on Wednesday 24 August. Other villagers warned Nang Lao Kham not to search for her husband alone in the jungle, but she went anyway. Khine Aye returned safely to her village the same…
Civilians have fled to Paletwa town in southern Chin State after Burma Army (BA) Infantry Battalion 289 shelled their village during clashes with Arakan Army (AA) on Wednesday, 24 August. According to a local source who requested anonymity, 54 families from Abawng Thar are staying at the cyclone centre in Paletwa town and another 69 families are staying with relatives. “We cooked a vegetable curry for them last night and a bag and a half of rice,” he told Khonumthung News. Although almost everyone fled the village, some of the senior citizens were unable to leave because they couldn’t make…
The increased cost of fuel is causing additional hardship for the people of Chin State, who’re already struggling with a civil war that’s led to supply chain shortages and massive displacement in one of Burma’s poorest states. Many people can no longer afford to buy petrol, and even if they can or have to, they often cannot find it because many petrol stations no longer sell it. “There’s still some petrol in Chin State, but it’s really hard to find. Some shops have already closed down. This has affected many drivers and motorbike taxi drivers in Hakha,” a local told…
Rice and other essential goods have been unable to be delivered to Paletwa for weeks after the junta again blocked vital land and river transport to the town in southern Chin State due to renewed fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Burma Army (BA). “The cost of rice has gone up drastically in Paletwa and there’s no one selling it in the market. Costs of everything has risen, including cooking oil, meat, fish and fuel,” said a woman. Another woman from Paletwa said that a bag of rice, which used to cost $29, now costs $43. Since the…
Some petrol stations have stopped selling after fuel prices rose drastically in Kalay in Sagaing Region. According to a resident of the town, fuel pumps at major petrol station chains such as BOC ran dry on Wednesday, 17 August. “Although we have money, it is really difficult to buy gas in Kalay. I think we will have a serious fuel shortage in the future,” he told Khonumthung News on condition of anonymity. He could not find it at several stations, including one BOC, before finally finding a litre of petroleum at the third station he drove to. According to locals,…