According to several local reports, Myanmar army units in Chin State demolished two churches and roughly 30 dwellings in three villages while traveling along the Falam-Hakha route over the previous week, leaving them barren of occupants.
On October 13, a convoy of two armored vehicles and more than 35 trucks carrying junta forces departed Falam for Hakha and has been occupying villages along the road that connects the two townships since then. Locals told Myanmar Now that the army has started setting fire to the communities as they leave.
The military's assaults have caused the entire population of Rialti, Thlanrawn, and Taal to flee their homes. More than 1,000 individuals have been relocated across Falam Township and from Lungpi, Tlangzawl, and other nearby settlements.
According to villagers, junta troops destroyed the 10-household settlement of Rialti, including its church, on October 13. They did the same to the 12 dwellings in Thlanrawn the next day, and four days later, on Monday, they set fire to the village's church.
"They tried to burn the church down, but it didn't catch fire, so they destroyed the chairs, pulpit, and curtains inside," a Thlanrawn villager said on condition of anonymity to Myanmar Now. "The military terrorized the locals with both heavy and light weapons, forcing them to flee." They are still afraid to return."
On Tuesday, three residences in Taal were allegedly set on fire.
According to villagers, the military convoy in issue was occupying the Baptist and Assembly of God churches in Ramthlo hamlet, Falam Township, 22 miles from Hakha.
On September 29, the Institute of Chin Affairs issued a statement criticizing the military's desecration of ethnic Chin churches.
"In the church, the pulpit stage is a sacred location. "We don't even allow people to wear shoes on it," a Falam Township Chin preacher explained. "They just break into churches whenever they want." It's a slap in the face to religion."
Since early October, the Chin National Front and the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF) have intercepted and ambushed a military convoy traveling from Kalay in Sagaing Region to Falam.
According to a CNDF spokesperson, half of the cars in convoy between Falam and Hakha were destroyed, and at least four junta soldiers were killed in the ambushes.
"On our side, there were no deaths. There have been continuous battles. Just this morning, the armoured vehicles started shooting at us from the football field in Ramthlo village," a CNDF spokesperson told Myanmar Now.
Since early October, the military has been sending reinforcement convoys with armored vehicles to the Chin State townships of Mindat, Matupi, and Hakha.
According to a report released on October 15 by the Chin Human Rights Organisation (CHRO), the military damaged roughly 100 structures in the Sagaing and Magway areas and another 100 in Chin State during August and September. According to CHRO, there were seven churches and a monastery among them.
On September 18, Junta artillery bombardment on the Chin State town of Thantlang burned many homes, while the troops set fire to numerous more. Soldiers also killed local priest Cum Biak Hum and sliced off his finger to steal his wedding ring.
When word of the pastor's death spread online, junta information officer Gen Zaw Min Tun claimed that a stray bullet had hit him and that the military was "investigating" his death.
According to a report released on September 26 in military-run media, members of the local anti-junta People's Defence Force had confiscated the pastor's ring and watch.
Following the violence on September 18, thousands of villagers fled Thantlang, taking refuge in surrounding villages along the India-Myanmar border and crossing into India's Mizoram state.
The military council's information staff has not returned calls from Myanmar Now seeking information on the ongoing violence in Chin State, nor has it issued any statements on the situation.
