The Chinland Defense Force ( my, ချင်းဒေသကာကွယ်ရေးတပ်ဖွဲ့, lit=Chin Region Defense Army, translit=Chin Daletha Kakweyay Tatphwe; abbreviated: CDF) is a rebel group in Myanmar. It was formed in response to the

2021 Myanmar coup d'état A coup d'état in Myanmar began on the morning of 1 February 2021, when democratically elected members of the country's ruling party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), were deposed by the Tatmadaw—Myanmar's military—which then veste ...

to protect

Chin State Chin State (, ) is a state in western Myanmar. The Chin State is bordered by Sagaing Division and Magway Division to the east, Rakhine State to the south, Bangladesh to the south-west, and the Indian states of Mizoram to the west and Manipur t ...

from the

military junta A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...

. The CDF claims that they do not attack the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

without cause and that they always issue a warning, such as releasing detainees and refraining from using violence against civilians. If the military does not respond, guerrilla or other action follows. They promise to return their weapons and disband if the

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

is successful. CDFs are members of CJDC (Chinland Joint Defense Committee). Chinland Joint Defense Committee (CJDC) is formed to serve Chin people's security services and protect an enemy from the illegal Myanmar Army. The total strength of active personnel under the command of CJDC is approximated to be around 13,000. From August to October 2021, it was reported that at least 40 clashes occurred between junta troops and CDF in various townships. CJDC claimed that at least 1,029

Tatmadaw Tatmadaw (, , ) is the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include th ...

soldiers were killed in the clashes and lost 58 of their own in 2021.

History

Following the February 2021 coup in Myanmar, many

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

occurred against the new military junta. Coup opponents peacefully protested by banging pots and pans at night and staging online and offline strikes. The

Military Council A military council is an approach to organization by a council with representatives from various bodies. The term "military council" applied to organisational groupings of senior ranking officers in the European armies of the 19th century during o ...

responded harshly using violence to quell the protests, arresting citizens and torching homes. Civilian militias began to spring up throughout the country attempting oppose the coup and to ensure the safety of their own areas. Two ethnic armed organizations operated in

, the

Chin National Front The Chin National Front ( my, ချင်းအမျိုးသားတပ်ဦး; CNF) is a Chin nationalist political organization in Myanmar. According to its website, its armed wing, the Chin National Army (CNA), fights the government of ...

Chin National Army The Chin National Army ( my, ချင်းအမျိုးသားတပ်မတော်; abbreviated CNA) is a Chin ethnic armed organisation in Myanmar (Burma). It is the armed wing of the Chin National Front (CNF), and was founded on ...

and the

Zomi Revolutionary Army The Zomi Revolutionary Army ( my, ဇိုမီး တော်လှန်ရေး တပ်မတော်; abbreviated ZRA) is an armed Zomi nationalist insurgent group formed in 1997, following an increase in ethnic tensions between the ...

. However, the groups were unable to properly reach and safeguard the Chin townships, prompting the formation of the Chinland Defense Force on April 4, 2021.

Goals

The Chinland Defense Force's stated goals are to protect civilians from the ruling military junta, abolition of the

2008 Constitution of Myanmar The Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (2008) is the third Constitution of Myanmar after 1947 and 1974 constitutions which lost force after military coups. It is part of the seven steps road map announced by then Prime Minist ...

, an end to military rule, and the establishment of a

federal union A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a political union, union of partially Federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central #Federal governments, federal gover ...

Weapons

The Chinland Defense Force has purchased light weapons such as the

M-16 The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-roun ...

, AK (Kalashnikov), and Tu-mee (locally built hunting rifles that are commonly found). International importers bring M-16s and AK-47 rifles into Myanmar.

References

{{Insurgent groups in Myanmar Rebel groups in Myanmar Paramilitary organisations based in Myanmar Chin State