Chin Brotherhood Alliance | |
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Burmese: ချင်းညီနောင် | |
Foundation | 30 December 2023 |
Dates of operation | 30 December 2023–present |
Group(s) |
|
Active regions | Chin State Magway Region Sagaing Region India-Myanmar border |
Allies | State allies Non-state allies |
Opponents | State opponentsNon-state opponents Chinland Council [3] 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.
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]
Founding Members:
Later Members:
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.
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.
Thantlang is a town and the administrative center of Thantlang Township in Chin State, western Myanmar.
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.
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.
Matupi is the principal town of Matupi Township of Chin State in western Myanmar. There are 6 major Chin tribes living in Matupi; the Matu, Mara(Tlosai,Hlaipao, Hawthai,Sizo,etc), Dai, Zotung, Lautuv and Khumi tribes.
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.
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.
The Arakan Army, sometimes referred to as the Arakha Army, is an ethno-nationalist armed organisation based in Rakhine State (Arakan). Founded in April 2009, the AA is the military wing of the United League of Arakan (ULA). The Arakan Army are followers of Theravada Buddhism. 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. It was declared a terrorist organization in 2020 by Myanmar, and again by the State Administration Council junta in 2024.
The Myanmar Civil War, also known as the Burmese Civil War, Burmese Spring Revolution, 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 alliance, the ruling government of the State Administration Council, or SAC, also contends with other anti-SAC 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.
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.
People's Defence Force-Zoland, also known as Zoland Defence Force and shortened to PDF-Zoland, is a People's Defence Force armed group in Chin State, Myanmar. They're the armed wing of the Zomi Federal Union, and a key member of the Chin Brotherhood Alliance, formed in December 2023 alongside the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF) and Chinland Defense Force-Mindat (CDF-Mindat). This alliance aims to enhance collaboration in both political and military endeavors concerning Chin State and Chin ethic affairs.
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.
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.
On 13 November 2023, the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic resistance group 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 captured several towns in northern Rakhine, including Mrauk U, the capital of Mrauk-U District and the historical capital of Arakan. These gains gave them total control over most of northern Arakan. The Arakan Army followed these successes by besieging Sittwe, the state capital, and Ann, the headquarters of the junta's western command. They also launched offensives in the southern parts of the state, capturing several towns and throwing junta forces into disarray. The International Institute for Strategic Studies reported that the Arakan Army'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 an impact on neighbouring countries. Refugees and junta officials have fled into Bangladesh, India and Thailand. Territorial violations of Bangladeshi territory, such as artillery strikes and firing at vessels near St. Martin's Island, have caused border tensions. In India, the conflict also contributed to the 2023–2024 Manipur violence.