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UNDER THE HORNBILL FLAG: CHIN STATE RESISTANCE CONTINUES Project Maje CONTENTS Introduction Abbreviations used in this report: Click on photos to expand. This report is an update on the situation in Chin State since Project Maje's October 2021 report "Hornbills and Powder Horns: Chin State Resists" which contains extensive background information on the revolution in that region of western Burma (Myanmar.)
This report is based on observations from a November-December 2022 fact-finding trip by Project Maje's director with an emphasis on Thantlang Township, which has been a major conflict zone. Most of the town of Thantlang was burned down by occupying coup regime forces in 2021 and the township (a Burma/Myanmar designation like a district) has become what Time magazine described in November 2022 as "a resistance stronghold." While conditions vary within Chin State, from Tonzang in the north to Mindat in the south, Thantlang (in the west/central part of the state) provides a useful window into the present situation. This report also includes links to articles from October 2021 to January 2023 about the revolution in Chin State and related issues. Project Maje's November-December 2022 fact-finding trip included discussions with Dr. Sui Khar, Joint General Secretary of Chin National Front; veteran Chin politician Salai Kipp Kho Lian; local and international staff of Chin Human Rights Organization and other information sources. Brief interviews, included in this report, were conducted with an array of civilians and resistance military personnel from Chin State. Refugee and IDP settlements were visited in locations in Mizoram and Thantlang. It is significant that Chin State ethnic groups (including Chins and Zomi) are also involved in resisting the coup regime in neighboring Sagaing and Magway Regions. Warfare in hill regions of neighboring Rakhine State has affected Chins and related ethnic peoples as the Arakan Army was in conflict with the coup regime during July-November 2022. But this report focuses on the situation in Chin State. In the most significant indicator of changes during 2022, Dr. Sui Khar of CNF asserted that resistance forces as of November 2022 maintained control in "80% of Chin State." In early September 2022, CNF spokesman Salai Htet Ni told The Irrawaddy, "We can say that we – local resistance groups and civilians – now control over 70 per cent of the territory in Chin State." Other observers put the level of resistance control in late 2022 as high as 90%. While these figures are currently impossible to independently confirm, it is noteworthy that the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar determined in a carefully researched study published in September 2022, "Critically, resistance forces and organisations are now the de facto authorities in the majority of the territory of Myanmar, and for the majority of the population." The coup regime's forces, once bent on full scale occupation with convoys of troops entering Chin State during 2021, have reportedly been confined to their bases in a few towns (including the State's capital, Hakha) and are largely dependent on air resupply. Infrastructure sabotage and road raids by resistance forces (including Chin National Army, Chinland Defense Force, Chin National Defence Force and others) have produced this result, along with effective deployment of snipers, Improvised Explosive Devices and drones. This level of resistance control has resulted in civil administration resuming under the leadership of Chin armed resistance forces and civilians. Teachers, health care workers, law enforcement and other government officials who quit their jobs as part of the anti-coup Civil Disobedience Movement are, in many cases, able to resume their work. Sometimes in the same schools, hospitals and offices that were operated by the Burma (Myanmar) government before the coup. The responsibility for civil administration has created a strain on funding and other resources for the armed resistance groups.
The primary military threats from the coup regime forces in Chin State are artillery bombardment and air raids by helicopters or jets. On January 10 and 11, 2023 the coup regime’s air force jets for the first time staged bombing raids on Camp Victoria, CNF/CNA Headquarters which has served as a training facility for other resistance forces. The regime’s aerial bombardment killed five CNA soldiers and damaged a medical clinic. Camp Victoria is on a bend in the Tiau River which forms the border with Mizoram and Indian airspace may have been intruded on by the Myanmar coup regime’s jets. Bombing effects were felt in Mizoram, including a damaged truck near the river. As has happened elsewhere in Burma (Myanmar) with bombing and strafing of schools, villages and public gatherings the coup regime’s air raids can be directed at civilians as much as at military adversaries. The July 2, 2022 air attack on Mindat in southern Chin State was an example of civilian targeting. Dr. Sui Khar calls for a "no fly zone" to remove the pervasive threat of regime air strikes. But with the countries which border Burma (Myanmar) maintaining recognition of the coup regime, it is unclear how a "no fly zone" could be enforced, or by whom. An alternative method for grounding the coup regime's Air Force would be comprehensive international sanctions on the regime's imports of aviation fuel. According to Burma Campaign UK this would include "sales, shipping, ports, equipment, services, insurance and certification and accreditation services." In December 2022, Canada became the first country to sanction providers of aviation fuel to Burma (Myanmar.) In liberated areas of Chin State, including Thantlang, entire villages go about their normal life in the mountains. Shops are open, houses are built for new residents displaced from elsewhere, churches hold services, children attend school. But it needs to be emphasized that civil defense aid raid training, including shelter construction, must be a high priority for these communities. Where the coup regime's troops are stationed or continue to operate in Chin State, severe human rights violations have been committed during the period from October 2021 - December 2022, including rape, torture, murder of persons with disabilities, summary execution and property destruction. These war crimes are consistent with a pattern of severe human rights violations committed with impunity by the coup regime's troops throughout Burma (Myanmar.) The area in and around Chin State's capital city, Hakha has been particularly vulnerable to abuse of civilians by the coup regime's troops.
As well as the direct effects of artillery bombardment and air raids, the Chin State resistance is hampered by dependence on transport routes for arms shipments through neighboring Sagaing and Magway Regions. Unlike other regions of Burma (Myanmar) Chin State resistance forces are largely unable to get weapons from sources in their neighboring countries ( in this case India and Bangladesh.) The Chin State resistance suffers from a noticeable weapons and ammunition shortage, with handmade "tumi" hunting rifles still in widespread use. Use of Improvised Explosive Devices, while often effective against the enemy, all too frequently result in injuries to resistance soldiers producing or using them. The Chin State resistance forces are not able to field all willing volunteers due to the weapons/ammunition shortages. However, one advantage the resistance has is many highly educated volunteers who have brought special skill sets to the struggle, including engineering, medicine, technology and martial arts. In addition, lifelong hunters with deep awareness of terrain have helped make the Chin State resistance forces formidable foes of the coup regime.
If direct non-lethal aid (as specified in the US Burma Bill, which would still require appropriations) can be made available to armed resistance groups like CNF and CDF, options might include items such as night vision goggles, counter-mortar radars, surveillance drones, communications equipment, body armor and helmets as well as lifesaving combat trauma medical supplies such as QuikClot dressings and tourniquet kits. Urgent direct aid for civil administration such as teacher salaries, civilian medical care and food supplements for IDPs would be enormously helpful for the liberated areas of Chin State. Food insecurity has impacted Chin State even before the coup, as the region did not grow enough rice to feed its population. In 2016, rice imported from elsewhere in Burma (Myanmar), including donations, provided 30% of the rice consumed in Chin State. Under current wartime conditions, as rice growing regions of central Burma (Myanmar) are in full scale conflict, with villages destroyed, fields burnt and contaminated by munitions, Chin State is even more vulnerable. There is a serious possibility of large scale food aid being needed in 2023. UN relief aid or assistance from the Government of India has not been provided for refugees in Mizoram or Internally Displaced Persons in Chin State. The refugees, who are of ethnic groups related to the Mizo people of Mizoram, have been allotted shelter land, allowed freedom of movement, allowed employment and given access to education and healthcare. A network of support organizations assist them, but many have become self-sufficient over their year+ in Mizoram. This Mizoram approach stands in contrast to other neighbors of Burma (Myanmar) such as Bangladesh where Rohingya refugees are confined to camps, kept aid-dependent, often denied livelihood and education. In rural Mizoram the Chin State refugees have enhanced some communities with building booms due to remittances from overseas relatives. (Chin State has long had a substantial remittance economy.) They have filled labor gaps, planted gardens and made efforts to conform with rural Mizoram's emphasis on cleanliness and sustainability. Many others have joined the burgeoning population of Mizoram's spectacular ridge-top capital city, Aizawl. On an environmental note, during fact-finding in Thantlang, some mountain groves of Khasi pine (Pinus kesiya) were observed, as well as pine wood in use. Khasi pine is an important, useful native species which should be replanted and properly managed for Chin State's future.
The people of Chin State fiercely believe they are fighting for the future of their land and for generations to follow. The interviewees send messages of unshakeable determination and express hopes for assistance from the rest of the world. As resilient as the pine trees on windswept ridges, Chin State's resistance deserves international attention. Note: Previous Project Maje reports regarding Chin State include: Hornbills and Powder Horns: Chin State Resists (2021) Many thanks to the interviewees and to the volunteer workers, including Chin Human Rights Organization: https://www.chinhumanrights.org/ note: Although all interviewees gave consent for their names or nicknames to be used, in this report some names as well as some locations have been redacted for safety reasons.
Interviewee 1 Q: Where did you come from originally? A: Thantlang. Q: When did you come here A: 2021, September 19. Q: What happened to make you come here? A: Because of the coup. And my husband is shot dead. Q: When did that happen? A: September 18 he was shot. Q: When the soldiers came to Thantlang is September 2021 what happened? A: They burned down the houses and all the things. So my husband went to take care of the houses and all. That's how he was shot dead. Q: Where did those soldiers come from? A: The soldiers came from Hakha to Thantlang. In Thantlang they were living in Block 1 and at the time the houses were burning they were staying in Block 2. And my husband wanted to go to Block 1, at that time the SAC come to Block 2 and they shot him on the way. Q: Did your neighbors from Block 2 also come over to India? A: Yes, we came here all together. Q: Other people in your family? A: Yes Q: About how many people from your family? A: 11. Q: Where was your daughter born? A: Lunglei District. Hospital. Q: Has the situation changed over the year? A: After we came here, many situations have changed. Like the buildings are developed. So many in [location redacted]. Also here is very no worry. My children [2 boys] are also studying here. Q: Why are people from Thantlang fighting today? A: Because they want to control the things so CDM are also fighting because they don't want to give up to the dictatorship. Q: What do you think are the main problems, currently [in Chin State]? A: Because of the money and because it's very young, only a year. Q: What would you like to say to people around the world about what's happening to not just your family but all the families? A: We need support more. Now because many people have become immediately the orphans, like my family. So this kind of thing I don't want to see anymore. So we need awareness of this kind of thing. We need more supports of my people in this situation. Interviewee 2 Q: When did you come to India? A: Sept. 10 [2021] Q: What made you come here? A: As you know, the Myanmar military. Q: Did they come to the town? A: Yes. Q: How many people came here with you? A: The first time, 7. My mother is already died February 24. Q: During the time you've stayed here, have things changed? A: [location redacted] here the economics have changed. Shopping, cars, buildings. Q: Are there problems or challenges here in India? A: This is no challenge, it is good. Here many people are our relatives. And our Chins, we have a good relationship. Q: Are the children getting education here? A: Yes. Q: Do any older children go to school in Indian universities or colleges? A: Yes, I think so. Q: What would you tell or ask people around the world about this situation and your home place? A: While we are in Thantlang, they are fighting each other by using guns and bombs. And burn our homes, we have no shelter. We flee from our place and arrived here. By the way, here my children did not like to stay here. "We are to go back to our home, when will we go back home?" they ask again and again. And they are praying every morning, every night — they pray for CDF and CNF — unless they win, we will not go back to our home. It's not safe for our lives. Interviewee 3 Q: When did you come to Mizoram? A: 21 November, 2021. Q: What made you come here then? A: It was very difficult for me but I cannot explain. Q: When you came here, was it hard to find a place here? A: It was very difficult to find a place, because we didn't know where we are going to live. Because we are CDM, my husband was CDM so we fled and spent 2 months on the way. And after that we came to [location redacted] and found an IDP camp and live here. Q: Have things changed since you've been living here? A: Yes, the first time we reached here, this camp, there were rains, that destroyed, we could not sleep at night. This kind of problem. Many challenges. But now is very becoming good. Q: What would you want to tell people about the situation in Chin State? A: I wish in Myanmar is to follow the democracy country, the real democracy country. Because it has been too much trauma, I cannot bear it. Interviewee 4 Q: When did you come to the India side? A: September 21, 2021. Q: What made you decide you had to come? A: Because at the first time after the coup we thought that we had to flee. So our clothes and property are [put] on motorcycle, but immediately the battle, the roads are blocked by SAC. So we don't know where we will go. So we came to here and we stayed in [location redacted] we don't find a place, but here we get the IDP camp so we live here. Q: When you got here, how did you make a house or find food? A: The first time we reached here, we don't have rice and food, but some foreign people they sent the food for IDPs, so we get this kind of ration. 25 kg. rice. We raise the chickens. But now it's very difficult to get the helpers so we cannot make business like before. Here it is very difficult to find a job. Q: What would you want to tell people about the situation? A: The first time we look to get the democracy. It's very important: real democracy. Interviewee 5 Q: When did you come to India? A: Immediately [when] SAC military junta and CDF are fighting in our towns, our village is like downside of the hilltop. This is they are shooting the mortar bombs and all, so immediately we ran out and spread, we cannot run together. So I am alone to reach here. I was arrived in [location redacted] 24 September, 2021. Q: When you came here, how did you find a place to stay? A: At first I didn't know where I would go. Immediately I came to this side. Here was not an IDP camp or shelter. And I could not rent a house. So I phoned on the mobile phone to the [location redacted] District phone number and I heard about there is an IDP camp in [location redacted]. So they informed me to pick up in their car at the river, to here. I came by walking before that. Q: What kind of problems have you had in this place? A: At first when I came here, all was great here. But then the rain came and the rainwater was flowing here. So I could not cook — without eating food, for two days I stayed here. When the rainy season has come. And it flowed and I cannot sleep. And then, October 24 night, the heavy rain came and the roof, this side slides and then broke from it. After that, the laborers came and they fixed it for me. Q: What would you like people to know about the situation in Chin State? A: [on being asked this question, the interviewee wept angrily for several minutes] Because of this I cannot stay together with my children. And we spread out, this kind of situation happened. They kill and they take our property. My message is they don't even avoid the children or elders, the enemy shoots them. We are only civilians! How many people will die? Interviewee 6 Q: When did you come here? A: I joined CDF and I got appendicitis and got my appendix operated on. So then I stay here. My wife and children came here first, 12 September 2021. Because Thantlang was completely burnt and the house was burned down, and the leader sent me 2 cars to all flee, to leave Thantlang. So in the early morning we woke up and climbed on the car. And this way we ran. Q: When did you join CDF? A: 2021 May. Q: Did they have guns or training at that time? A: We didn't have the training. Afterwards we joined the training, but I could not join because I got sick, stomach pain. That's why I suffered and I could not take the training. Q: When the family came here, how did they find food or a house? A: When first we came here, the Mizo Society gave us rice. After that the foreigners provide it. That's why we survive. Q: What would you say if you could speak to everybody about the situation? A: Because it is very hard to be here, because lots of things happened, so we need help from the foreigners. All the things, and guns also. Foreigners also need to accept and agree to the NUG. And then it will becoming stronger. If this doesn't happen, how many people will give their lives? [International community] will help. Continue to help Myanmar. Interviewee 7 Q: When did you join CDF? A: After the coup happened, we protested in Hakha. But then these protests cannot be possible, so we need to hold a gun. Only this can win. So we started, at that time I was participating in CDF, it just started. Q: When did it change from protests being possible? A: The end of July [2021.] Q: Were you doing media work during the protests? A: Yes, for Hakha Times. Q: What was the beginning of CDF like? A: At first we didn't have the guns or the weapons so we made the — in Chin culture we call it "tumi" [handmade hunting rifles.] Only this kind of gun we are using. After that we made bombs, landmines. Few people had bullets. Some people brought bows and arrows. Q: Did you shoot a tumi yourself? A: Yeah. Q: How was that? A: Good! Q: Did you train yourselves or get training? A: The CNF gave the training, we journeyed to Camp Victoria. After that, the CDF in the townships then we give the training, many are trained. Q: Did the weapons improve? A: Still needs improving. For example, on the battlefield, half carry the automatic [rifles] and half carry the tumi. Still. Q: Had you ever used a drone before the coup? A: Yes, I already used the drones for taking the photos and the videos. Q: How did you get the idea to use the drones for the revolution? A: Our high ranks people already knew the drone is very useful so they already made a drone group. Q: Is the drone more useful for reconnaissance or for dropping things? A: My drone is really useful. For watching the enemy, no need to go there to find out for ourself. Because this is very useful and active. Q: What are the main problems or challenges for CDF? A: The big challenge is we don't have enough weapons. Many of our friends joined the CDF but they leave [because no weapons] and go to another country. Three times I went to big battles and also mini-operations. The big battles, three weeks. The first time in Thantlang, the second also Thantlang, and then the third is Falam. Q: Is sabotage part of the strategy? A: There are many. A lot of things, especially the Hakha bridge. Tiddim bridge. I did not participate much in this kind of thing. But in Falam, in the battle, at that time we spoiled the SAC motorcars. And in Hakha township many SAC offices. We burned down this kind of thing. Q: What is Hakha like now for people living there? A: In Hakha situation, the people are scared too much. Because of what kinds of bombs are coming, what guns are shooting. People are afraid. It looks like the normal but it's not. Thantlang people hope to come back to Thantlang to rebuild and reconstruct the town. Q: What would you like to tell about the current situation? A: I never thought — I had never held a gun, I only held mobile phone and computer, I could write — but then I take up the gun and this thing happened. Because of this we dare not to give up. Many people, our friends gave up their lives for our country. Not only for Chin State, not only for the villages. This is for all Myanmar and outside where Myanmar people are living. Our friends have given their lives, so we will continue until the end. Interviewee 8 Q: Were there protests in Thantlang after the coup? A: I started the protests in Thantlang after the coup. It did not work, these did nothing to stop SAC. So we took the guns and then started. Without fighting we cannot win. In April [2021] CDF started. Many people were active in the town. Secretly. Q: How did you join CDF? A: I joined the training in 3 days and it was very difficult to live. 50 men and I'm one girl. I cooked for them. I stayed in Thantlang and I supported the military efforts. Sometimes secretly I told my friends to cook and then they kept it in my house and keep it in the jungle. And sometimes we got shoes and clothes, all the things we supported secretly. Q: What are the main challenges in the current revolution? A: So many challenges. But one thing I want to share: the women, we can participate in this kind of situation, also in economic situation and be strong in many ways. There are many challenges because many women have not thought about this kind of situation. Q: What do you want the international community to know? A: Because it's very important we will fight to the end of this battle to win. Because we gave up our education and all the things. So we will fight. We will never give up. And we need to keep interest from other countries, to help in many ways. So we will become stronger. And need to fight to win. We will never give up our fight until the end. Interviewee 9 Q: When the coup happened, did you protest? A: Yes, I was in the protests in Hakha. Q: When did it stop being safe to protest in Hakha? A: After 43 days. After the coup, I joined the teachers after 6 months. A big challenge when I was a teacher was there was no water. Difficult to take a bath. And after being a teacher I joined the CDF. Q: Were you also doing media work? A: Yes, I was a volunteer during the [2020] election and then I joined officially after the election. Q: How did you join CDF? A: I joined a training for CDF. All are boys! We don't get boiling water — you take baths in cold water. The place is very cold. Q: What do you hope will happen in 2023? A: [Going into] 2023 is not a good situation. But don't give up to help and support, if all the foreigners will be unified to support, after that we will win. We will continue to fight.
Interviewee 10 Q: What are the main challenges or medical problems you're seeing? A: Lots of challenges! Especially, I just finished my Masters Degree in General Surgery before the coup, so I don't have enough experience yet. Because of Q: What types of diseases are in this area [Thantlang]? A: Diseases here in Chin State: gastritis — upper gastrointestinal problems. The main one. It's associated with the diet. Malaria in the rainy season. There's lots of appendicitis here — we do surgery nearly every day. 3 to 4. Also there's Q: Are you able to evacuate people to India if it's very serious? A: Yes, if it's very serious we refer to Aizawl. For example, like prosthesis after amputation we refer to India. Q: What do you want to tell the world about the revolution at this time? A: Our main target is to win the revolution as early as possible. So sometimes we feel depressed because of the situation that we encounter here.
This is a list (with links) of news articles and reports from October 2021 to January 2023 about anti-coup resistance in Chin State and related topics. Project Maje does not endorse the contents of these articles, which are listed and linked in this report for background information purposes. Internet is Cut Amid Junta Troop Surge in Myanmar's Chin State and Neighboring Regions Junta Troops Torch Church, Homes in Myanmar's Chin State 'A Living Hell': Churches, Clergy Targeted by Myanmar Military Chin PDFs Destroy Two Bridges to Disrupt Myanmar Junta Forces US Condemns Myanmar Military's Violence in Chin State Myanmar: Another Wave of Atrocity Crimes in Chin State Scramble for Evidence After Attack in Northwestern Myanmar Junta Troops Accused of Raping Two Women in Myanmar's Chin state A Month of Fires in Thantlang, Myanmar Myanmar Troops' Northwest Push Fuels Humanitarian Crisis In Myanmar's Chin State, A Grassroots Rebellion Grows Army Burns Civilians Alive and Homes During Chin State/Sagaing Region Offensive 'Burn It All Down': How Myanmar's Military Razed Villages to Crush a Growing Resistance A Myanmar Family Flees to India with no Plans to Return Soon PEC Demands Probe into Chin Journalist's Killing Victims of 'Massacre' in Myanmar's Chin State Were Bound with Throats Cut: Residents Resistance Forces Intercept Military Column in Chin State, Junta Responds with Airstrikes Resistance to the Myanmar Regime in Chin State Myanmar's Chin battle military with muskets Military Violence Emboldens Myanmar's Ethnic Resistance Chin Resistance Fighters Expect More Myanmar Junta Attacks This Month Why it's Time to Talk About the Aid Void on the India-Myanmar Border Refugees in Myanmar's Chin State Excluded from ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Plan Three People Killed as Troops Target Villages in Chin State Teen Boy Becomes Fourth Casualty of Junta Artillery Fire in Chin State Township in Under One Month Missing Chin State Resistance Fighters Found Dead Two Civilians Killed by Myanmar Military Airstrikes in Chin State Myanmar Junta Troops Murder Disabled Villagers in Chin State Fighting Breaks Out on Border Separating Chin State and Sagaing Region Centre Must Welcome Chin Refugees with Open Arms, Mizoram is Already Doing So Myanmar Regime Forces Detain, Kill Three Chin Resistance Fighters Coalition of Chin Resistance Forces Launch Lethal Attack on Junta Base Near State Capital Woman Killed, Son Injured, in Shelling of Chin State Village Myanmar Junta Army Kills Two Underaged Sisters in Chin State Myanmar's Forgotten War Mizoram Sees Fresh Influx of Refugees After Myanmar Army raids Myanmar Refugees in India Lack Support: NGOs Chin Resistance Attacks Regime Forces In Thee Mit Valley At Least 60 Myanmar Junta Troops Killed in Chin State's Hakha in Past Month: Resistance On a Remote Indian Border, Myanmar's Refugee Doctors Battle Growing Needs Around 70% of Western Myanmar's Chin State Controlled by Resistance Love in a Time of War in Chin State Artillery shell kills two children, injures one, near Chin capital Myanmar's Anti-coup Fighters Say Injuries Harden Resolve The Military Tried to Burn Thantlang Down: How a Myanmar Township Defied the Odds to Become a Resistance Stronghold Myanmar Military Carries Out Airstrikes Near Indian Border Chin Capital Cancels All Festive Celebrations of Christmas and New Year Myanmar Junta's Shelling Kills a Teenage Boy, Two Injured Myanmar Junta Launches Massive Air Campaign Against Chin Resistance Fighters Myanmar Junta Continues Air Offensive in Northern Chin State Chin Resistance Forces Fail to Take Outpost After Week-long Siege Junta Soldiers Murder Disabled Man In Chin State 'They Steal ... Then They Burn': Burmese Church in Columbus Calls out Myanmar Injustices Chin Nationalism 'Blossoms' on Northwestern Front Against Junta Five Killed in Junta Airstrike on Chin Resistance Force Headquarters Near Myanmar-India Border Myanmar Junta Bombs Chin Resistance HQ Twice in Week Meet the Women Fighting Myanmar's Junta Myanmar's Military Launches Airstrikes Near Indian Border
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