Mai Mai Mangtha
In Chin State, almost every Chin household has a Tu Mee Gun. They used the so-called Zone Thout (Zon Thout) to resist the British colonial forces that entered Chin State. Chin elders have said that the Tu Mee Guns that were used in Chin State during the First and Second World Wars and the colonial era are still useful today.
After the military took power in Myanmar on February 1, nationwide protests against the military dictatorship erupted, and protests against the military dictatorship continued in townships and villages in Chin State. Since the end of February, the military has been violently suppressing and suppressing public protests.
Meanwhile, the youth of Mindat Township, Chin State, formed the Chin Defense Force-Mindat (CDF-Mindat) on March 12, 2021 to defend the region.
On April 24, 2021, the youth of Mindat demanded the release of seven protesting youths who had been arrested by the military council in Mindat township. On April 24, the CDF-Mindat group began attacking the military council troops with machine guns in Mindat township, and fighting continued until April 28.
On March 28, 2021, the youth attacked the military council troops with machine guns, which had destroyed the Tahan strike fortress located in Tahan Ward, Kalemyo, Sagaing Region, where the majority of the Chin ethnic population lives, on April 7, 2021, and the youth attacked the military council troops with machine guns, and the resistance against the military council with machine guns spread to Mindat township in southern Chin State.
Then, fighting broke out again in Mindat township from May 12 to 15, 2021, and the military council fired from the air, The CDF-Mindat team learned that between 50 and 70 soldiers were killed and 10 military vehicles were burned during the battle for Mindat, using heavy artillery from the ground.
The military council declared Mindat Township in Chin State, where fighting between the Chin Regional Defense Forces and the Myanmar Army forces was intense, as a martial law area on May 13, 2021. Mindat Township in Chin State was one of the first townships to be declared a martial law area after the 2021 military coup.
The Chin Defense Forces-Mindat (CDF-Mindat) revolution, which began with hunting rifles and shotguns, was a turning point that showed the public that they could fight back against the military they considered powerful, said CDF-Mindat Chief of Staff Salai Thang Chawn Phe at the CDF Mindat 3rd Anniversary Revolution Ceremony held on April 24, 2024.
“In the aftermath of our struggles on April 24, the people across the country also gave birth to a revolution that we can all unite around the S-K-S and do this. That is why not only our CDF Mindat, but also our Chin people in Chin State, and all the revolutionary forces that emerged from the Myanmar Spring Revolution, will cherish this day and make it a historic day.”
Within a few months of the military coup in 2021, the youth of Mindat town began to rebel against the military council army with hunting rifles, and from November 9, 2024, the Chin Brotherhood group, which includes CDF-Mindat, launched an offensive to completely capture Mindat town.
During the year 2024, the military council army was involved in the Matupi, Mindat, Kanpetlet, In the battles for the capture of Falam and Tedim, about 100 Chin Brotherhood comrades were killed and about 400 were injured, said Salai Thang Chawn Phe, commander-in-chief of the Chin Brotherhood and CDF-Mindat, at the 1st anniversary celebration of the Chin Brotherhood group, which is a group of 6 Chin armed groups, on December 30, 2024.
The number of deaths and injuries in 2024 is the number of deaths and injuries of the 6 Chin Brotherhood groups. Salai Thang Chawn Phe said that during the 4-year battle with the military council after the 2021 coup, about 250 Chin Brotherhood comrades were killed and about 1,000 were injured.
On December 21, 2024, just before the (4) anniversary of the Chin Revolution that began in Mindat on April 24, 2021, the Chin Brotherhood and its allies, including CDF-Mindat, were able to completely capture Mindat from the military council.
Four years after the coup, the military council had lost most of the territory and towns in Chin State, a mountainous region in the northwestern part of the country.
