About 80 rebels mounted attacks on Rihkhawdar and Khawmawi military camps in Chin at around 4am (5.30am, Singapore time) on Monday, eventually taking control of both outposts after several hours of fighting, Sui Khar said.
Following the battle, 43 Myanmar soldiers surrendered to Indian police and were sheltering in Mizoram, local police official Lalmalsawma Hnamte said.
“Whether they will be pushed back or not, we are waiting for further instructions from the central government,” he told Reuters.
India’s federal home ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sui Khar and the Chin Human Rights Organization said they believed some of these soldiers may have been involved in atrocities against civilians.
Chin rebels will now look to consolidate their control along the India-Myanmar border, where the Myanmar military has two more camps, Sui Khar said.
“We’ll move forward,” he told Reuters. “Our tactic is from the village to the town to the capital.”
Chin State, which had been largely peaceful for years, saw fierce fighting after the 2021 coup by junta leaders with thousands of residents taking up arms, many of them assisted and trained by the CNF.
The Chin rebellion was backed by locals in Mizoram, in part due to close ethnic ties, and tens of thousands of people from Myanmar sought shelter in the small Indian state, including ousted state and federal lawmakers.
TANKS ON THE STREETS
A resident in Rakhine’s capital Sittwe and social media posts said that tanks had been seen on the streets of the city following the eruption of fighting in the western state.
The junta has imposed a curfew in Sittwe and residents have been ordered not to leave their homes after 9pm and businesses must close by 8.30pm or face legal action, according to a government document and media reports.
“We saw tanks going around the town. Many shops are closed today,” a resident told Reuters, declining to be named for security reasons.
“The schools are open but families did not send their kids to school today.”