Resistance fighters in Chin State kill 27 soldiers in ambushes 

Resistance forces in Chin State said they killed 27 regime soldiers, including a captain, near the towns of Thantlang and Hakha on Thursday during ambushes on columns of reinforcements.

During one clash members of the Chinland Defense Force (CDF) ambushed some 30 soldiers in the Khualhring mountain range outside of Thantlang, killing at least 17 within an hour, said a spokesperson who requested anonymity. 

“They came up with motorcycles this time and we took the opportunity to ambush them,” he said.

On Tuesday CDF members retreated from the area when they spotted military drones inspecting their locations, he added. Then on Wednesday, the fighters held back from attacking troops because they were near residential areas, he said. 

Later on Thursday, the CDF attacked a column of about 50 soldiers near the Gangaw-Hakha Highway, about 50km south of Hakha. At least 10 soldiers were killed and the rest withdrew from the area.

The regime’s soldiers reportedly used RPGs and machine guns during Thursday’s clashes but the resistance suffered no casualties, according to the CDF, whose members are armed with mostly handmade rifles and other light weapons.

The attacks were “revenge” for a series of crimes committed by the military against civilians, the spokesperson added. 

“They looted our people’s animals, like pigs and chickens, and other valuable things like money,” he said. “At the same time, they fired artillery shells into residential areas so that people wouldn’t dare to remain in their houses.” 

“This is our revenge. We are going to protect our people from their crimes and we want to show that we won’t tolerate their violent atrocities.” 

The CDF was formed in early April with ethnically Chin people from nine townships in Chin State as well as from areas outside the state.

“We use guerilla tactics,” the spokesperson said. “We count their casualties by the bodies of the soldiers and by the number of guns their soldiers bring back on the trucks when they retreat. They always leave the bodies but take the guns of the dead soldiers.” 

Following the clashes, hundreds of residents in villages in Thantlang Township fled to the jungles. 

The CDF demanded in a statement on Thursday that the regime immediately release over a hundred civilians arrested in several Chin towns, including Hakha, Mindat, Matupi and Kanpetlet. 

The group warned that it would step up armed attacks across the state if the regime failed to free the detainees.

Clashes across the state have intensified since late April.

Tens of thousands of residents have been displaced by the clashes, and by military occupations of their towns.