About 90 per cent of Falam Town’s residents have fled the Chin State town following three days of fighting there, from 25 to 27 October 2024.
A schoolteacher was killed and four civilians were wounded by junta artillery fire during the three days of fighting between the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF) and the junta. The fighting stopped on the third day, 27 October, but the junta continued firing artillery into the town after that.
Though the fighting did not resume, the artillery barrages persuaded about 90 per cent of the residents to flee the town and seek refuge in nearby villages; Hakha Town in Chin State; Kale (Kalay) Town in Sagaing Region; and areas near the Myanmar-India border.
Of Falam’s original population of about 10,000 people about 9,000 have fled, leaving about 1,000 who are staying in the town to look after their homes.
A Falam Town resident currently taking refuge in a rural area of Falam Township said: “Around 90 percent of the population has already fled Falam [Town], and very few remain. It’s impossible to predict what will happen next. Those who stayed behind are constantly worried about the junta's random shelling, and at night, no one dares to sleep soundly. Those of us who’ve escaped don’t feel safe returning now, no one knows if the fighting will resume.”
The CNDF, the armed wing of the Chin National Organization (CNO), has launched Mission Jerusalem (MJ) with the goal of capturing Falam Town in coordination with the military leadership of the Chin Brotherhood Alliance (CBA).
The Chin Brotherhood is made up of six Chin defence forces: The CNO/CDF; Mindat Chinland Defence Force; the Zomi Federal Union/People's Defence Force; Maraland Defence Force; Kanpetlet Chinland Defence Force; and Brigade 1 of Matupi Chinland Defence Force.
