People in Mindat Town in Chin State are preparing to flee because they fear retaliation after the local defence force, CDF Mindat, raided junta checkpoints on 14 June.

At least five junta soldiers were killed when CDF Mindat attacked military checkpoints near to the Immigration Office and National League of Democracy (NLD) office in Mindat Township on 14 June.

Explaining the situation in the town, a local resident said: “Gunfire can be heard in the downtown areas of Mindat, and it is becoming increasingly common. Searches of residential houses have been rougher. Arrests are also on the rise in the town. Two people were arrested and killed in the Ashaepyin block in Mindat. Locals are afraid to stay in town and are trying to move out of the town.”

But, it is hard to leave Mindat because there are troops stationed all along the roads in and out of the town.

“The villages can only be reached by going through the forest if residents are fleeing the war. It isn’t easy to go to nearby towns like Kyaukhtu, Yaw and Saw. The roads have been shut off, no one can tell us what’s going to happen next, said another local preparing to flee the fighting.