Chin, Arakanese armed groups at odds over latter’s troop presence in Paletwa

By Khin Tharaphy Oo 20 Mar 2020

Khin Tharaphy Oo | DMG

20 March, Sittwe

The Chin National Front (CNF) has asked the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army to immediately cease hostilities in Chin State, and is demanding the pullout of the Arakanese ethnic armed group from Chin State’s Paletwa Township, which borders conflict-plagued Arakan State. 

But the March 19 statement from the CNF was rejected by AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha, who cited Paletwa Township’s geographically strategic importance in explaining why troops would not be withdrawing. 

 “The Arakan Army will not pull its troops out of Paletwa Township. The reason behind escalating clashes between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army in Paletwa Township is that the former is waging an offensive war against the latter,” he said. 

“Only when the Tatmadaw does not launch attacks will hostilities between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army be reduced. If the CNF wants to halt the fighting, the group should demand that the Tatmadaw stop the clashes.”

The CNF attributed a “state of emergency” for ethnic Chin tribes to conflict between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army, alleging that both groups had committed war crimes against Chin people.

The Chin National Front (CNF) was one of eight non-state armed groups to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement in October 2015, under the previous quasi-civilian government of U Thein Sein. Headquartered in Thantalang Township, Chin State, the CNF was founded in 1988, with an estimated strength of 200 fighters, according to the reference guide “Deciphering Myanmar’s Peace Process 2017-2018,” published by Burma News International.

Several civilians were killed recently in Paletwa Township when military fighter jets allegedly strafed a handful of villages there. A media liaison for the military told the news outlet VOA on March 16 that the Tatmadaw had to retaliate after its forces were attacked, essentially asserting that the aerial assault on the villages was an act of self-defense.

Residents of Paletwa Township have also faced food shortages as waterways typically used to transport goods were blocked amid the ongoing hostilities in the region.