Junta changes tactics in southern Chin offensive, says Chin Brotherhood spox

By Admin 08 Jun 2026

DMG Newsroom

8 June 2026, Mindat, Chin State

Myanmar military regime forces advancing into southern Chin State via Saw Township in neighbouring Magway Region have significantly changed their offensive strategy, according to the Chin Brotherhood.

The regime has maintained an active offensive against Mindat and Kanpetlet townships in southern Chin State since mid-May.

Salai Yaw Mang, spokesperson for the Chin Brotherhood, said the current military push differs from previous operations, shifting from single-column advances to large-scale troop deployments from multiple directions.

"We are confronting two primary challenges: an overwhelming influx of regime manpower and the rapid arrival of military reinforcements," Salai Yaw Mang said during a fundraising event on June 6. "The regime's current offensive targeting Kanpetlet and Mindat does not follow its previous methods. They are dispersing their forces and encircling our positions, spreading their offensive lines across a two-mile perimeter while targeting both townships simultaneously."

The spokesperson added that the regime's change in tactics has forced resistance fighters to expand their defensive lines, creating logistical and operational challenges.

After resistance coalitions captured Falam and Tonzang townships in northern Chin State in April and May, the military regime mobilized thousands of troops to launch the current assault on the southern townships of Kanpetlet and Mindat.

Resistance commanders said the fighting in southern Chin State has evolved from mobile guerrilla warfare into large-scale strategic engagements. As a result, resistance forces have carried out tactical withdrawals from some positions, though commanders stressed that these movements do not indicate defeat.

"The military operations in southern Chin State are clearly designed to target the Arakan Army as well," a regional military analyst said. "With access routes open from Magway, Ayeyarwady and Bago regions, the regime is deploying thousands of troops through Mindat and Kanpetlet in an attempt to establish a corridor to Arakan State via Matupi and Paletwa."

The Chin Brotherhood said the conflict in southern Chin State has reached its most intense phase, adding that decisive military outcomes will require a prolonged period of fighting. To sustain its push toward Arakan State, the regime continues to send reinforcements and military supplies into southern Chin State through the Yaw area of Magway Region.

The Chin Brotherhood alliance seized and established control over both Mindat and Kanpetlet townships during operations in 2024.