The Myanmar military has unleashed a massive counteroffensive involving an estimated 6,000 troops across Chin State, striking resistance strongholds with relentless airstrikes and recapturing a critical trade route along the Myanmar-India border.
The escalating theater of war has triggered a severe humanitarian crisis, particularly in the southern Chin’s Mindat Township, where residents report near-daily bombardments and a scorched-earth campaign designed to root out localized resistance groups.
Mindat hammered by aerial attacks
On June 13, the Myanmar Air Force dropped at least six heavy bombs on Mindat, obliterating an unknown number of civilian homes. While local sources confirmed to DVB that no immediate casualties were reported, the psychological and infrastructural toll on the town has been devastating.
Mindat, located roughly 127 miles (275 km) south of the Chin State capital, Hakha, has been under the administrative control of the Chin Brotherhood alliance since it was seized in 2024.
According to local networks, the military has turned to absolute air superiority to destabilize the liberated zone, executing at least 25 rounds of documented airstrikes June 8-13.
The current crisis escalated sharply on May 12, when a heavily armed 2,000-strong troop convoy breached the township and initiated a systematic arson campaign.
The combination of targeted arson and relentless aerial attacks has forced thousands of local civilians to flee into nearby jungles and makeshift displacement camps.
Strategic India trade route falls to regime
The military’s multi-pronged offensive scored a significant strategic victory on June 10 farther north. Utilizing an intense combination of coordinated airstrikes and heavy artillery barrages, regime forces managed to regain control of the strategic Hakha-Thantlang road.
Hakha--Thantlang Road
├── Status: Recaptured by regime (June 10)
├── Importance: Vital trade artery on Myanmar-India border
└── Previous Status: Held by Chin resistance since 2023
The road serves as an indispensable trade artery linking the isolated mountainous region directly to the Myanmar-India border. It had been successfully seized and fortified by the Chin National Army (CNA) and the Chinland Defense Force (CDF) since 2023.
A spokesperson for the CNA confirmed the sheer scale of the regime’s push to DVB, revealing that the military has mobilized roughly 6,000 troops to spearhead this statewide reclamation effort.
The CNA, originally established in 1988, was previously a signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) but officially tore up the accord to rejoin active combat following the February 1, 2021, military coup.
The fragmentation of Chin State
The latest counteroffensive marks an aggressive, partially successful attempt by the military to roll back a string of humiliating territorial losses suffered over the past two years.
The current map of control across Chin State highlights a deeply volatile, fragmented landscape:
- Regime Recaptured/Controlled: Junta forces successfully retook Falam on April 25 and Tonzang on May 19—two northern towns that had been liberated by resistance forces. The major urban hubs of Hakha, Thantlang, and Tedim also remain under strict military garrison.
- Chin Resistance Controlled: The southern belt of Chin State—including Matupi, Kanpetlet, and the contested zones of Mindat—remains primarily under the control of Chin resistance forces.
- Arakan Army Controlled: The highly strategic southern township of Paletwa remains entirely under the administration of the powerful ethnic Arakan Army (AA), which seized it in 2024.
Resistance forces face a crucial test
The onslaught arrives at a delicate moment for the Chin political landscape. Historically divided resistance factions had recently achieved a major diplomatic breakthrough.
On February 26, 2025, the civilian-led Interim Chin National Consultative Council (ICNCC)—which commands the Chin Brotherhood alliance—officially agreed to merge with the Chinland Council (led by the CNA/CNF) to form a singular, unified governing body known as the Chin National Council.
With 6,000 regime troops now actively attempting to split the state in half, this newly unified political architecture faces its most perilous battlefield trial since the spring of the 2021 revolution.
