Close to six weeks of fighting between military junta troops and the Chinland Defense Force (CDF) in Sammathar village, San Ein Nu village and nearby villages in regional No (5), Kanpetlet township, Chin State and has led to villagers suffering severe food shortages.

About 900 people, including the elderly, children, the sick and pregnant women, have fled into the forests and mountains.

As one villager explained to Mizzima, fighting between the two sides had been raging since 7 February.

“In the past, when the junta troops entered the village, villagers went to the fields to avoid them for a while. When the troops left, the villagers came back. The villagers took some food when they fled. This time it took a long time, there is no food and medicine. It is very difficult for us,” the villager said.

During the clashes, the junta’s 274th Battalion based in Mindat township and Kyaukhtu artillery Battalion fired artillery shells, destroying nine houses in the old village of Sammathar.

Not only the Sammattha villagers but also people in the surrounding villages had to flee to safety as the military junta troops raided and set fire to houses in Sammattha village on the morning of 15 March in the latest clash.

The CDF-Kanpetlet announced that their headquarters has been temporarily evacuated due to the heavy fighting, insufficient ammunition, the imbalance in firepower, and concern for people’s safety.