Chanchinmawia & Devjyot Ghoshal

CHAMPHAI (Reuters) – A former boxer claimed that he was perched on a hillside in India’s northwest near Mindat and was preparing for an ambush of a troop of soldiers. However, the troops opened fire, hitting his arm with a bullet.

“I tried running but I was shot in the upper arm,” Za Latt Thwey told Reuters that he ran near a Mizoram safehouse in India, bordering Myanmar.

Indian orthopaedic doctors noted that the Indian patient had received a gunshot wound. An X-ray confirmed this.

This skirmish, which took place in May, was part what seven rebels including five fighters said was growing resistance to Myanmar’s military in Chin.

These accounts contain previously unseen details about the origins and expansion of the rebellion.

Like in other areas of the country civilians are becoming angry at the February military coup and the subsequent crackdown against protesters. They are a threat to Chin, according to the junta.

The Tatmadaw (military) has sent reinforcements into Chin over the past weeks. This was a peaceful country for many years. They also launched a major offensive against the rebels according to analysts and rights organizations.

According to sources who spoke on behalf of three different individuals, more than 12 opposition Chinland Defence Forces (CDF), groups have emerged in the state. They described a growing network of fighters with a great deal of knowledge about the local terrain as a significant advantage.

According to them, the group had built supply chains and food stockspiles as well as weapon depots. They also partnered up with the Chin National Front (CNF), a long-standing ethnic group in order to coordinate and train combat operations.

All resistance forces, including the shadow government, are considered terrorists by the military.

Salai Htet Ni (CNF spokesperson) told Reuters that CNF had trained protesters and young Chins in basic guerrilla warfare tactics after the military coup.

A 32-year old fighter hailing from Chin’s capital Hakha said, “Our strength is our unity and public support.”

Reuters couldn’t independently verify claims by sources regarding the power of the rebellion and the response of Tatmadaw.

Myanmar’s military spokesperson, and the Ministry of Information declined to comment on growing opposition in Chin and deployments of the Armed Forces.

Reacting to the resistance in Chin, and other places by the Tatmadaw has led the United Nations and the United States to warn that 2017’s brutal crackdown on Rohingya Muslims within Rakhine state could be repeated.

Rakhine saw more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims flee the country in 2015. Refugees charged the military with mass killings, rape and other crimes. UN investigators claimed that the military committed the atrocities “genocidal intention”.

Myanmar authorities claimed that they were fighting an insurgency. They also denied the commission of systematic atrocities.

Since the February coup, details about battlefield losses have not been released by the military.

NOODS AND SHOTGUNS

Hakha fighter said that before taking up arms, he was an undergraduate student in history and had joined large-scale public protests against February’s coup.

He said that he joined the resistance because of the suppression by military forces of peaceful demonstrations calling for civilian rule to be restored.

According to AAPP, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), junta forces are believed to have detained thousands of people to crush the opposition.

AAPP was declared illegal by the military, who claimed it used biased data and exaggerated information. AAPP did not respond to this accusation.

Two fighters claimed that Hakha saw groups of protestors start stockpiling food, including oil, noodles, and rice in several locations within the jungle around the village of around 50,000 inhabitants.

According to Hakha, several CDF-related groups met at Camp Victoria (the CNF’s headquarters) in April to coordinate arms resistance against Tatmadaw.

According to two combatants and a leader of the National Unity Government, the CNF’s military wing has played a pivotal role in resisting the regime. They provide training support and technical assistance for several CDF groups from across the country, according to fighters.

The NUG is effectively a shadow government and includes pro-democracy organizations as well as remnants from the expelled civilian administration. The NUG has had talks with officials from other countries, even the United States.

Nearly 2,000 Hakha volunteers were sent to Camp Victoria under the CNF in the initial months of resistance. This was a new level of coordination that had never been reported.

NEW KIND OF CRISIS

Three CDF fighters stated that they would be taking on Tatmadaw in Chin’s northern parts. This is a province covering 36,000 kilometres with nine main townships.

Za Latt Thwey, a guerrilla from Mindat who was trained by CNF and targeted Tatmadaw Patrols said that he was there.

Small groups of fighters captured cellphone footage and showed to Reuters by Za Latt Thwey small men were seen sitting on hillsides shooting homemade guns or automatic rifles. The footage could not be independently verified by Reuters.

An ex-Chin lawmaker declined to identify himself, but he stated that financial support for Mindat’s rebels has mostly been provided by the NUG as well as the Chin diaspora.

The lawmaker claimed that food, clothing, and medical equipment reached the rebels every month via multiple routes including India.

According to three fighters, the NUG leader, and the lawmaker who was advising the group, explosives and weapons were most difficult to obtain.

Two rebels stated that the 21-member council oversees CDF Hakha’s support units and command stations.

According to the analysis of the Chin Human Rights Organisation, (CHRO), violence across Chin has increased in recent months due to Tatmadaw fighting with rebel groups.

Salai Z Uk Ling from CHRO stated, “We have never faced this kind of crisis before” in Chin.

According to former residents, Thantlang was once an active settlement with around 10,000 inhabitants. However, Thantlang’s hilltop community is almost abandoned. Since September began, soldiers have set fire to more than 500 buildings.

Last month, U.S. State Department issued a call to the military for an end to violence, calling out Chin, Thantlang and other events.

Pa Hein, 55 years old, said he was the last person to leave the village in September. He also claimed that he had witnessed Tatmadaw troops set on fire buildings and runsack shops.

The Myanmar military denied these accusations and blamed the insurgents who instigated fighting in Thantlang, burning houses and other crimes.

SEEKING TREATMENT

The buffer zone has been established for Chin rebels after the initial police defectors arrived in India’s Mizoram State state in March. They were followed by thousands of other refugees and lawmakers from Myanmar.

A request to comment was not received by the Indian government.

According to an official from Mizoram, approximately 12,900 persons have arrived in Mizoram from Myanmar. This includes 30 federal and state lawmakers who were ousted.

Some lawmakers and other leaders are supporting the resistance. They seek to support and unify the rebels as the fighting continues.

With the support of the CNF and Chin’s lawmaker, the NUG hopes to unite all arms resistance groups under one command.

Salai Htet Ni, CNF’s chief of staff, said that the NUG and the group had reached an agreement to cooperate. The CNF would “take a leading role in the defense and military warfare efforts of Chin State.”

Za Latt Thwey was killed. He said that he searched for months for safe routes to Mandalay, Myanmar. But he eventually decided the trip was too dangerous.

He collected cash from his family and friends in November and began a five day journey mostly on a motorcycle to reach India.

Za Latt Thuy stated, “I cannot box any more.” “But my arm needs to be repaired so I can carry on my normal life so I can farm,” Za Latt Thwey said.