Chin Brotherhood Alliance

Last updated
Chin Brotherhood Alliance
Burmese: ချင်းညီနောင်
Foundation30 December 2023
Dates of operation30 December 2023–present
Group(s)
Active regions Chin State
Magway Region
Sagaing Region
India-Myanmar border
AlliesState allies

Non-state allies

OpponentsState opponents

Flag of Myanmar.svg  Myanmar (SAC)

Non-state opponents
Flag of the Chin National Front.svg Chinland Council [3]
Flag of Zomi Re-unification Organisation.svg Zomi Revolutionary Army
Battles and wars Internal conflict in Myanmar

The Chin Brotherhood Alliance (CBA) is a military and political alliance between several ethnic armed organisations active in Chin State, Myanmar. Formed on 30 December 2023 during the Myanmar civil war, the claimed goal of the alliance is to foster collaboration concerning affairs in Chin State and in the Chin ethnic community. [5] The alliance was created by local Chin people's defence forces who believed that the establishment of the Chinland Constitution, the Chinland Council, and the State of Chinland "did not adhere to democratic standards, lacked equality, and failed to represent and reflect the unity of the entire Chin ethnic group."

Contents

Conflicts with other Chin groups

On 31 January, 2024, the CDF-Mara, CDF-Paletwa, CDF-Thantlang, CDF–Zophei, CDF-Lautu, and CDF–Senthang, alongside the Chin National Army (CNA), launched an offensive on Chin Brotherhood Alliance member the Maraland Defence Force (MDF) after the MDF reportedly killed a CNA soldier and detained several CDF-Mara soldiers. [6] A month later, the MDF and CNA clashed in Paletwa Township near the Chin State-Rakhine State border. [3]

In early May, after the Chin Brotherhood Alliance captured the town of Kyindwe, the alliance accused the Chinland Council and the Chin National Front of trying to take advantage of the conflict in Chin State to occupy the town and expand their territorial control. In the same statement, it urged the CNF to prioritise attacks on the Chin State capital of Hakha and warned that the alliance would "fight back" if confrontations continued. The Chinland Defense Force-Matupi (Brigade 2), a Chinland Council member, condemned the accusations. [3]

Membership

Founding Members:

Later Members:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chin State</span> State of Myanmar

Chin State is a state in western Myanmar. Chin State is bordered by Sagaing Division and Magway Division to the east, Rakhine State to the south, the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh to the west, and the Indian states of Mizoram to the west and Manipur to the north. The population of Chin State is about 488,801 according to the 2014 census, and its capital city is Hakha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinland</span> Self-declared state within Myanmar

Chinland, officially the State of Chinland, is a self-governing polity in Southeast Asia. Its claimed territory encompasses Myanmar's Chin State. It controls nearly all of the Chin State in western Myanmar, along the borders with Bangladesh and India. The Chinland Council, the ruling authority of Chinland, stated that one of its main goals is the formation of federal union, where Chinland will become an autonomous federal unit within a future federal Myanmar once the State Administration Council military junta has been overthrown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paletwa Township</span> Township in Chin State, Burma

Paletwa Township is a township of Matupi District in the Chin State of Myanmar. It consists of Paletwa and Sami towns and Paletwa is the administrative center for the township.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tedim Township</span> Township in Chin State, Myanmar

Tedim Township is in Tedim District, Chin State of Myanmar (Burma). The administrative centre for the township is the town of Tedim. Tedim Township is the most populous township in Chin State, with a population of 87,623.

The Daai are an ethnic group living in Chin State, Myanmar. The Daai consist of 32 Chin tribes, which have been registered by the Government of Burma since 1890. The recent Military Regime’s census mentions the Daai tribe as the 62nd of 135 tribes of Burma. Researchers refer to them as the Daai group in the ethnic survey book of Burma. The Daai Chin appear to be of Tibeto-Burman descent. The Daai people live in the Mindat, Paletwa, Matupi and Kanpetlet townships of Southern Chin State in Burma. There are more than 180 Daai villages with a total population of somewhere between 40,000 and 50,000. Their population makes the Daai-Chin the majority tribe of the Southern Chin Hills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zomi Revolutionary Army</span> Nationalist insurgent group

The Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA) is an armed Zomi nationalist militant group formed in 1997, following an increase in ethnic tensions between the Kuki people and the Paites tribe in Churachandpur district of Manipur, India. Its parent organisation, the Zomi Re-unification Organisation, was founded in April 1993.

Mara Evangelical Church, or MEC in short, is one of the churches in Myanmar, formerly Burma, founded by English missionaries Reverend and Mrs. Reginald Arthur Lorrain in the year 1907. It is one of the oldest churches in Chin state, Myanmar. It was part of the unified Mara Church among the Mara people until it had to become independent after India and Myanmar attained independence from the British Raj in 1947. The Mara Church in India became the Evangelical Church of Maraland and Congregational Church of India, Maraland (CCI-M), while the one in Myanmar became MEC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arakan Army</span> Insurgent group active in Rakhine State, Myanmar

The Arakan Army, officially the Arakha Army is an ethnic armed organisation based in Rakhine State (Arakan). Founded on 10 April 2009, the AA is the military wing of the United League of Arakan (ULA). It is currently led by Commander-in-Chief Major General Twan Mrat Naing and vice deputy commander-in-chief Brigadier General Nyo Twan Awng. The Arakan Army states that the objective of its armed revolution is to restore the sovereignty of the Arakan people. In a February 2024 interview, Twan Mrat Naing claimed that the AA had grown to at least 38,000 troops. Anthony Davis, an expert of military and security, rejected this claim and estimated that it has at least 15,000 troops in Chin State and Rakhine State, in addition to around 1500 in Kachin State and Shan State. In the early 2010s, the Arakan Army fought alongside the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) against the Tatmadaw in the Kachin conflict. Following the 2016 outbreak of conflict in Rakhine state, AA became more heavily involved in the Arakan region. In 2019, AA launched attacks on state security forces and the Myanmar Army responded, heightening clashes. The AA reached a ceasefire in late 2020 after eroding the central government's control in northern Rakhine. The power vacuum was filled by the AA over the next 18 months with state-building efforts, like their COVID-19 vaccine rollouts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People's Defence Force (Myanmar)</span> Armed wing of the National Unity Government of Myanmar

The People's Defence Force is the armed wing of the National Unity Government in Myanmar. The armed wing was formed by the NUG from youths and pro-democracy activists on 5 May 2021 in response to the coup d'état that occurred on 1 February 2021 that put the military junta and their armed wing the Tatmadaw in power. The military junta designated it as a terrorist organisation on 8 May 2021. In October 2021, NUG's Ministry of Defence announced that it had formed a central committee to coordinate military operations across the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myanmar civil war (2021–present)</span> Ongoing armed conflict in Myanmar since the 2021 coup detat

The Myanmar civil war, also called the Burmese Spring Revolution, Burmese civil war or People's Defensive War, is an ongoing civil war following Myanmar's long-running insurgencies, which escalated significantly in response to the 2021 military coup d'état and the subsequent violent crackdown on anti-coup protests. The exiled National Unity Government and major ethnic armed organisations repudiated the 2008 Constitution and called instead for a democratic federal state. Besides engaging this rebel alliance, the junta also contends with other anti-junta forces in areas under its control. Hannah Beech of The New York Times observed the insurgents are apportioned into hundreds of armed groups scattered across the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinland Defense Force</span> Insurgent group fighting against the junta in Myanmar

The Chinland Defense Force is a rebel group in Myanmar. It was formed in response to the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état to protect Chin State from the military junta. The CDF claims that they do not attack the military without cause and that they always issue a warning, such as releasing detainees and refraining from using violence against civilians. If the military does not respond, guerrilla or other action follows. They promise to return their weapons and disband if the revolution is successful. CDFs are members of CJDC. Chinland Joint Defense Committee (CJDC) is formed to serve Chin people's security services and protect an enemy from the illegal Myanmar Army. The total strength of active personnel under the command of CJDC is approximated to be around 15,000. From August to October 2021, it was reported that at least 40 clashes occurred between junta troops and CDF in various townships. CJDC claimed that at least 1,029 Tatmadaw soldiers were killed in the clashes and lost 58 of their own in 2021.

The following is a timeline of major events during the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), following the 2021 military coup d'état and protests. It was also a renewed intensity in existing internal conflict in Myanmar.

This is the list of important events happened in Myanmar in 2023.

The Battle of Thantlang is a series of battles fought over the control of Thantlang town in Chin State, Myanmar between junta forces and local Chin rebels in 2021. The battle has left the town largely destroyed. In 2023, there continue to be clashes in Thantlang as the junta attempts to regain control of the township.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chin theater</span> Armed conflict in northwestern Myanmar

The Chin theater is one of the theaters of the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), with resistance forces fighting against the Tatmadaw military junta in Chin State, western Myanmar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation 1027</span> 2023–2024 anti-junta military operation in Myanmar

Operation 1027 is an ongoing military offensive conducted by the Three Brotherhood Alliance, a military coalition composed of three ethnic armed organisations in Myanmar: the Arakan Army (AA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), allied with other rebel forces in the country, against the Tatmadaw, Myanmar's ruling military junta.

The Three Brotherhood Alliance ;, also known as Brotherhood Alliance, is an alliance between the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army formed in June 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rakhine offensive (2023–present)</span> Military operation in Myanmar

On 13 November 2023, the Arakan Army (AA), one of the dozens of ethnic resistance groups active in the civil war in Myanmar, launched a military offensive against Myanmar's military junta in Rakhine and southern Chin State. Fighting began concurrently with the launch of Operation 1027, which the Arakan Army, as a member of the Three Brotherhood Alliance, also participated in. The offensive broke an informal ceasefire between the Arakan Army and the junta that had been in place for a year. During the offensive, the Arakan Army would capture several towns in northern Rakhine including Mrauk U, the capital of Mrauk-U District and the historical capital of Arakan. They would then focus on attacking Sittwe, the state capital, and Ann, the headquarters of the junta's western command. International Institute for Strategic Studies reported AA’s sweeping gains "are already enough to enable self-rule over a large portion of the Rakhine homeland and to reshape the wider balance of power in Myanmar."

The ongoing Myanmar civil war has had a spillover into other countries, especially India and Bangladesh.

References

  1. "Kanpetlet Chinland Defense Force joins Chin Brotherhood Alliance". Khonumthung News. 30 April 2024.
  2. "Chin Brotherhood Alliance Offers Partnership to AA for Mutual Protection of Rakhine and Chin People". Khonumthung News. 11 April 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 "Chin Alliances Clash Over Territory Liberated From Myanmar Junta". The Irrawaddy. 4 May 2024.
  4. "Chin Anti-Regime Groups Target Town Despite Myanmar Junta Reinforcements". The Irrawaddy. 30 April 2024.
  5. "Chin Brotherhood Alliance Emerges as Three Organizations Skip Chinland Council Conference, Pledging Enhanced Political and Military Cooperation". Khonumthung News. 2 January 2024.
  6. "Fighting intensifies between Chin revolutionary forces in Chin's Maraland". Myanmar Peace Monitor. 3 February 2024.