The Chin resistance group has taken control of both Cikha and Tonzang towns in Tonzang Township, northern Chin State.
Salai Htet Ni, the spokesperson of the Chin National Front/Chin National Army, said they and other resistance forces used drones to bomb the regime’s camp in Cikha. When the Chin soldiers arrived in the town on the morning of May 19, they discovered the enemy had already deserted their position.
“We heard their soldiers retreated to the army camp in Tonzang,” he explained, which they also bombed with drones. But when they arrived in the second town, they also discovered that soldiers from the regime’s Infantry Battalion 269 headquarters, two outposts, and police station in Tonzang had also fled their position.
“Our troops seized all of their camps in Tonzang, and we’re clearing the rest of the town,” Salai Htet Ni said, explaining that the regime and allies, Zomi Revolution Army Eastern Command (ZRA), are trying to ambush them at other locations in Tonzang.
At least 10 ZRA soldiers and 8 Burma army soldiers who are injured are receiving treatment in the hospital in town, while 2 police and a ZRA member have been captured alive.
The regime has flown airstrikes on resistance forces since they started attacking the two towns on May 16 but increased its attacks after they captured its Tonzang headquarters, launching 10 bombing missions.
It was the first joint offensive against the Military Council in Tonzang town, which was coordinated by the Chinland Government’s defense ministry. A total of 14 armed groups joined the assault on the two towns.
Over 5,000 have been displaced by clashes in Tonzang Township, and junta airstrikes have destroyed at least 10 homes.