Since control over this strategic town will give the military an advantage, it is being relentlessly bombed – displacing the entire population.
The continuing civil war in Myanmar has left a trail of death and destruction, and devastated towns and villages. The town of Thantlang, which I visited on February 2, 2023, has been reduced to a ghost town.
Nestled in the hills of western Myanmar’s Chin State is Thantlang, which epitomizes many facets of the conflict in Myanmar that erupted after the military or Sit-tat staged a coup on February 1, 2021, toppling the democratically elected National League for Democracy government.
Like many towns across the country, Thantlang was quick to organize a group called the Chinland Defense Force Thantlang (CDF Thantlang) against the Sit-tat. Clashes between the Myanmar forces and the CDF Thantlang began on September 19, 2021, and have continued intermittently, resulting in killings and burning of houses by the military.
The turmoil has compelled all the residents of the town to relocate to safer places in batches. They are lodged at the internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps in Salen, Bungkhua, and Hlamphei in Chin State and in refugee camps in the Indian state of Mizoram, while some families have been accommodated by their relatives in the neighboring villages of Thantlang.
Global Impacts 