Chin, Arakan, and Magway resistance forces hold the line against junta offensive in southern Chin State

Resistance forces from Chin State, Arakan (Rakhine) State, and Magway Region are jointly resisting a major junta offensive targeting the southern Chin State towns of Mindat and Kanpetlet. The offensive is being countered by a coalition comprising the Chin People's Union/Chin People's Army (CPU/CPA), the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA), and resistance forces under the Magway Federal Unit. Since mid-May, the alliance has successfully held back junta columns—reportedly numbering in the thousands—for more than a month despite sustained assaults. In a statement, the ULA/AA said the junta has committed large numbers of troops in an attempt to break through resistance positions in southern Chin State, but has so far failed to penetrate the coalition's steadfast defenses, with fierce fighting continuing across the area. "The junta has launched large-scale offensives against AA operational areas along the border between Mindat and Kanpetlet in southern Chin State, deploying a massive number of troops. Heavy clashes are ongoing," the ULA/AA said in a June 27 statement. Sources said Chin resistance groups and Magway Federal Unit forces have been fighting alongside one another against the junta offensive, inflicting heavy casualties on regime troops and leaving some junta columns on the verge of collapse. Dr. Ye Tun Zaw, Prime Minister of the Magway Federal Unit Government, underscored the growing coordination between resistance forces from Myanmar's ethnic highlands and central plains. "We'll continue marching forward together as one. Ethnic comrades from the mountains and resistance fighters from the plains are united in this revolution to uproot military dictatorship and build a federal democratic union," he wrote on social media. The cooperation has also strengthened resistance operations in the Yaw area, which spans Saw, Kyaukhtu, and Tilin townships along the Chin State–Magway Region border. Mutual support and joint operations among resistance groups there have given them the upper hand over junta forces, according to Bo Lat Yar, Defense Minister of the Magway Federal Unit Government, speaking to Yangon Khit Thit News Agency. CPU/CPA spokesperson Salai Yaw Man also said the group is preparing to release an update on the fighting in the Yaw area in the near future. Captain Zin Yaw, a former junta officer who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM)—the anti-coup campaign in which civil servants and security personnel refuse to work for the military regime—said he believes the spearhead of the junta's southern Chin offensive has already been blunted. He warned that, out of frustration over battlefield setbacks, the regime could escalate airstrikes against towns and civilian targets in the region. "Right now, the Chin resistance groups in southern Chin State appear to be operating in close coordination. I also believe the AA has helped prepare defensive positions in Kanpetlet. Wherever the AA is involved, the junta's offensives tend to lose momentum. The fact that regime forces still haven't advanced after more than a month suggests their southern Chin campaign has already stalled. If that's the case, the junta may turn to airstrikes to devastate Mindat and Kanpetlet instead. I'm especially concerned about non-military and civilian targets. Although junta troops have managed to push forward at times, they've repeatedly been forced back whenever they get close to the towns. At the same time, resistance forces in the Yaw area continue to keep pressure on the military, making it difficult for the regime to concentrate all of its forces on southern Chin State," he said. The junta launched the offensive in May using more than 2,000 troops deployed from Magway and the Yaw area. Those ground columns have been backed by drone strikes, air support, and heavy artillery bombardments. Despite those reinforcements, the junta has yet to capture either Mindat or Kanpetlet, and intense fighting continues. According to local sources, junta airstrikes have not been limited to military targets. The regime has carried out indiscriminate bombing raids on towns, villages, homes, churches, and other civilian infrastructure, leaving widespread destruction of residential buildings and essential facilities. The ongoing fighting has forced residents to flee from towns and villages across southern Chin State, as well as Saw Town and more than two dozen villages in the southern Yaw area. Meanwhile, the junta has also implemented its notorious Four Cuts strategy throughout the conflict zone, systematically severing resistance-held areas from food, funding, intelligence, and new recruits. As a result, thousands of displaced civilians, including children and the elderly, urgently need humanitarian assistance.