At least a dozen junta troops were killed in two days of attacks by Chin Defense Force (CDF)-Matupi on a military convoy carrying reinforcements and food supplies, according to the resistance group.
A convoy of three junta trucks carrying some 80 troops from Infantry Battalion 304 based in Matupi Township left the township on the morning of March 20 and was attacked twice the same day by CDF-Matupi while traveling on the road between Matupi and Paletwa townships.
As well as junta troops, the trucks were transporting food supplies for units deployed around Paletwa and Samee townships. On March 21, CDF-Matupi used land mines to ambush the convoy on the road near Twi Ship village.
The three land-mine attacks on the convoy killed at least a dozen junta troops and injured many more, according to the statement released by CDF-Matupi.
“As we attacked the convoy, a military outpost on the road between Matupi and Hakha townships responded by firing artillery shells indiscriminately,” said a spokesperson for CDF-Matupi.
He added that the shells had fallen in Vi Li Pi village but caused no civilian deaths or injuries.
Resistance forces in the anti-regime stronghold of Chin State are bracing for a regime offensive after witnessing a massive reinforcement of junta troops since the second week of March.
Residents and resistance fighters in the mountainous northwest state report that junta convoys have been crossing into northern and southern Chin State from neighboring Sagaing and Magwe regions since early this month.
The junta’s redeployment in Chin State comes as the regime escalates its brutal offensive targeting resistance troops and civilians in Sagaing Region, southern Shan State and Kayah State in the east of the country.
Sagaing Region as well as Chin and Kayah states have been hotbeds of resistance since the coup in 2021 and the regime has been unable to control the areas.
Resistance forces are attempting to disrupt the redeployment by attacking the convoys.
“We are monitoring the convoys, which are fanning out to different townships, with some pausing in Tedim and others on the way from Tedim to Matupi. We attack them whenever we get an opportunity,” said a member of the Chin Defense Force.
The massive troop reinforcement is receiving air cover from jet fighters and helicopter gunships that are circling townships in the Chin Hills every day, according to resistance groups.
