The ethnic Chin Brotherhood alliance has taken full control of Myanmar military’s last remaining hilltop base in Falam, the second biggest city in Chin State, following a five-month siege.
According to sources, the group defeated the Infantry Battalion 268, stationed at the base, on Monday morning.
“We have captured Falam. We are still chasing the fleeing junta troops while clearing the area,” a resistance military source told Burmese news outlet Mizzima.
The Chin Brotherhood officially confirms the takeover of the military’s 268th Battalion in Falam town, northern Chin State. Even as airstrikes continue across Myanmar, Operation CB led by the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF) comes as a well-deserved and strategic victory for… pic.twitter.com/ikkUBO2RrA
— Karishma Hasnat (@karishmahasnat) April 9, 2025
Massive arms haul by Chin Brotherhood (CB) forces after their capture of the last junta bastion – Infantry Battalion 268 base – in Falam, Chin State.#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/kuOONEedF6
— Angshuman Choudhury (@angshuman_ch) April 9, 2025
Fighting in Chin has intensified in recent months as rebels aim to drive out the remaining junta forces that have occupied the state since the military’s February 2021 coup.
The Chin Brotherhood launched “Operation Chin Brotherhood” to capture Falam on November 9, 2024. By December, they had taken control of most government offices in the town and various junta outposts, except for the base held by the junta’s Infantry Battalion 268.
The capture of the hilltop base this week marks the end of the military’s presence in the town and cuts off the junta’s land route between Kalay and Hakha.
Chin Brotherhood entirely controls Falam town after the group captures the junta regime’s 268 battalion headquarter base
07 April 2025
In a remarkable turn of events amidst escalating casualties, the Chin Brotherhood—led by the courageous Chin National Defense Force (CNDF)—has… pic.twitter.com/GJjOhxfLUl
— Chindwin News Agency (@TheChindwin) April 8, 2025
Captain Zin Yaw, a former junta officer, said the fall of Falam leaves Hakha and Kalay exposed. “There is no longer a land route connecting Hakha and Falam,” he noted.
The Chin Brotherhood, made up of several Chin ethnic armed groups, now controls four of Chin State’s nine townships. An allied group, the Arakan Army, holds Paletwa, and the Chinland Council recently captured Tonzang.
The fight displaced over 10,000 people from Falam. The Institute of Chin Affairs estimates 120,000 people have been displaced across Chin State since the 2021 coup, with 45,000 fleeing to India’s Mizoram state.
