A Chin National Army (CNA) attack on an army outpost in a High School in Chin State’s Falam Town, killed three junta soldiers and injured a student, on 18 January.
According to Salai Htet Ni, a CNA spokesperson, they attacked the outpost in Falam’s Basic Education High School 1 at around 3:00 p.m. He said there were no casualties amongst the CNA fighters however, according to locals a female student was shot in the thigh during the shootout and at least 30 civilians, including students, were detained.
In response to the attack, another Chin defence force, the Falam Township based Chin National Organisation/Chin National Defense Force (CNO/CNDF), issued a statement condemning the incident.
It said that the attack had violated the rules of engagement drawn up by the Chin Land Joint Defense Committee (CJDC), an association of 18 different Chin defence organisations.
Salai Cung Ngai, a spokesperson for the CNO/CNDF, said to Mizzima: “The CJDC has code of conduct. We have to submit this incident to the CJDC and discuss it. We have to make sure local defence forces have mutual respect for each other in the future. A bilateral meeting will be proposed to discuss this. The problem was not with the operation but, the lack of coordination with other defence forces.”
When asked about this by Mizzima the CNA spokesperson, Salai Htet Ni, said: “It is difficult to communicate with all the [defence] forces on the ground. We are trying to maintain communications with all [defence] forces in the Falam area.”
The CNA is the armed wing of the Chin National Front (CNF) and they have been actively fighting against the military regime in Chin state alongside other resistance groups since last year's coup, despite signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with the Myanmar Army in 2015.
The CJDC was formed as part of the Spring Revolution and is made up of 18 Chin defence forces, including the CNA, that are organised by townships and regions. The CJDC adjudicates and negotiates when there are misunderstandings and disagreements between its members.
