On the night of January 11, the junta carried out two airstrikes in Falam Township, Chin State, one of which struck Tibual Cottage Hospital, causing extensive damage.
At around 9:30 p.m. on January 11, the junta launched intense airstrikes on the villages of Tibual and Sim Dihai, according to Salai Timmy, spokesperson for the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF).
“Around 9:30 p.m., airstrikes hit two villages. Sim Dihai didn’t suffer major damage, but in Tibual, the cottage hospital was almost completely destroyed, and a few nearby houses were also damaged. Thankfully, there were no reports of casualties,” he told Khonumthung News.
Tibual Cottage Hospital, built at a cost of 500 million MMK during the 2014–15 financial year, now lies in ruins after the junta’s airstrike.
“The hospital yard includes a main building, a patient ward, and a doctor’s residence. When the two bombs struck, the patient ward, the doctor’s residence, and the lab in the main building were all damaged. One nearby house was heavily hit, while three others sustained only minor damage,” a local witness reported.
Tibual Village is situated roughly halfway between Falam Town, the administrative center of Falam Township, and the Indian border, about 40 miles from Falam Town.
In November 2023, the CNDF and allied Chin resistance groups attacked and captured the junta’s encampment and police station in Tibual Village.
During the Chin resistance forces’ operation to capture Falam Town, the junta carried out targeted attacks on Falam Township People’s Hospital as well as Lumte and Khuanglung cottage hospitals. Falam Town came under the control of the Chin resistance forces on April 9, 2025.
The junta has dispatched two military columns from the north and south of Kale (Kalay) Town in neighboring Sagaing Region, aiming to advance on Falam Town in an attempt to retake it, sparking fighting with Chin resistance forces that has now been ongoing for more than two months.