There was an encounter between the Maraland Defense Force (MDF) and the Chin National Front (Chin National Army—CNA) and its joint forces near Paiktay village, Pateintalan Circle, Paletwa Township, on February 24 at 8:00 a.m., and four soldiers of the CNA and its joint forces were killed, and five weapons were seized, the MDF reported.
“First of all, they are the Chin Land Council forces rather than the CNA and CDF (Mara) joint forces. Why am I saying this? Colonel Samon (CNA) himself said that they will crush any organization that is not part of the Chin Land Council. And the MTC/MDF was declared a terrorist because it was not part of the Chin Land Council. It has been more than a month since they launched an offensive. After that, they invaded our MDF region yesterday, so we had a skirmish,” said the information officer of the Maraland Territorial Council (MTC) to MPA.
The Maraland Defense Force (MDF) and the Chin National Front (CNA), the Chin Defense Force-Mara (CDF-Mara), clashed in a place between Lai Len Pi Town and Koemai village on January 24. Then the military tension is more intense between forces.
“In my opinion, as a Chin person, I don’t want this to happen between the Chin revolutionary forces. I want them to coordinate and find a solution to the problem. They are like this, and the people are divided against each other. Give priority to the people. Take the side of Chin nationalism. I want to tell them to be aware that if the cows split, the tiger will get them,” a man from Palewa commented to MPA.
The Chin National Front (CNA) and CDF (Mara) joint forces bombed Para village in the MTC/MDF-controlled area, Pateintalan Circle, 28 times from February 21 to February 23, resulting in one person being injured and seven houses being damaged, the Maraland Territorial Council (MTC) added in a statement.
“When they (the CNA and its joint forces) came in, the displaced people went to other villages on the farms to avoid. When they left, they came back and stayed there. That’s the situation. Now, when they bombed Para village, the residents fled to safety. After the bombing stopped, the residents returned to the village. They (the CNA and its joint forces) also closed all the entrances and exits of the village, so the people are in a situation where they can’t escape from anywhere,” the information officer of MTC added.
The MTC/MDF only wants to defeat the military junta permanently and does not want to have a confrontation between the Chin revolutionary forces. They are fighting against the offensive of the CNA and Chin Land Council joint forces. The CNA and Chin Land Council joint forces have said to leave Maraland as soon as possible and to be lenient to the people.
Among the 64 Mara villages in the Maraland, 49 villages were able to form the village administrative committee of MTC/MDF, seven villages were formed by CDF (Mara), and the rest eight were villages supporting the MTC/MDF, according to a press release issued by MTC on February 20.
CDF (Mara) is a member of the Chinland Council (CC) and is joining in battles with the Chin National Front (CNA), and the MTC/MDF is a member of the Chin Brothers, which are CDF (Mindat), CNDF, and PDF-Zoland.
There has been military tension between the Chin Revolutionary Forces in the Mara land of Paletwa Township, Chin State, for more than a month now. MPA contacted CNF/CNA and CDF (Mara) to inquire about the situation of military tension but was unable to contact them.