The skeletal remains of approximately 15 junta troops and their family members who fled Chin State’s Matupi Town when resistance forces attacked the town in June 2024 have been found in a remote jungle nearby.
The bodies were found on 11 March 2025, by members of the Mindat Camp Management Committee in Sub-district 14 of Matupi Township near the border with Mindat Township.
They are believed to have fled fighting in Matupi Town and died about a month later in the jungle from a lack of food and water and widespread diarrhoea.
The Chin Brotherhood Alliance (CBA) and its allies, the Arakan Army (AA), Yaw Army (YA), and Yaw Defence Force (YDF) launched an offensive against the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 304, Infantry Battalion (IB) 140, and Tactical Operations Command (TOC) in Matupi Town on 9 June 2024. They finally took control of the town on 29 June.
During the fighting for the town about 80 junta soldiers and family members were taken prisoner. Hundreds of junta soldiers, their family members and junta-affiliated civilian employees fled Matupi Town during the fighting. Some escaped, but others were captured.
On 17 July 2024 Chin resistance fighters found and captured a group of them. They found another group on 25 July and captured them after a two-hour gunfight.
Talking of the newly discovered skeletal remains, Ko Lawrence, a member of Mindat IDP camps’ management committee said: “I witnessed about 15 skeletons with my own eyes. Locals believe that around 120 junta soldiers and their families may have died at that time, but locating them all has been very difficult. It’s been quite a while. Some of the skeletons found so far are in the stream, while others are near the temporary campsite.”
It is believed that some of the remains may be of people who accidentally fell over cliffs.
Most of the bodies were discovered near to the campsite where they had been staying. Among the skeletons found were the remains of two children and at least one other was a woman. But, the genders of the others are unknown as the bodies were too decomposed to accurately identify their gender.
Ko Lawrence said to Khonumthung: “Among the remains I saw were two children, and I also came across one that could clearly be identified as a woman. The rest were mostly just skulls and hair, making it difficult to determine whether they were male or female.”
Also found near the remains were an army captain’s three star insignia, soldiers’ receipts for the purchase of shares in the junta-controlled Myanma Economic Holdings Limited, bulletproof vests, other military equipment and consumer goods.
Ko Lawrence said that the Mindat Camp Management Committee wants to search for and properly cremate the remains of all those who died in that area of the jungle.
But, he pointed out that about 30 people would have to search the area for several days to ensure all the bodies had been found.
He said: “We all want to ensure the remains are collected and properly cremated. However, we must also consider the difficult terrain and the challenging travel conditions to reach that remote location. It’s a tough journey, and the remains are scattered across the area. What I want to emphasise is that we all want to give the deceased a proper final resting place. Whether they were enemies or friends, they deserve a funeral that honours their human dignity, whether through cremation or burial.”