The ground is covered in discarded gunshots and landmine canisters. Where the soldiers’ quarters once stood, stacks of corrugated tin sheets have given way to yellow wildflowers. There are hastily constructed trenches around part of the camp.
A flag with red, white, and blue horizontal stripes with a picture of a hornbill in the middle flutters in the gloomy sky. It is the flag of the Chin National Army (CNA), an ethnic armed organization that is engaged in combat with Myanmar’s military junta in western Chin state.
The news and local armed civilian organizations drove the Myanmar army out of the area seven months ago.
A town on the Chin state border that trades with both India and other countries. For the Chin rebels against Myanmar’s military government, which overthrew the nation’s shaky democracy in a coup in 2021, it represents a historic victory.
The news has unique access to witness these rebel gains in the country’s west, as it is the first time the military has lost control of these areas.
It was not an easy victory at Rihkhawdar. It followed more than a year of offensives being launched. Additionally, it came at an unbearable cost for some families.
