The Burma Army (BA) has reportedly killed a mentally ill disabled man in northern Chin State, where fighting has broken out with the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF).

Pu Hau Cung Nung went missing on 19 November in Bualte, Falam Township, and his lifeless body was found covered in wounds three days later.

A male villager, who spoke to Khonumthung News on condition of anonymity, said the 56-year- old had lost his hearing in addition to his other disabilities.

“He was in the village when there were clashes nearby and he did not want to flee when the (BA) soldiers arrived.”

The CNDF has reported that more than 30 BA soldiers were killed during intense fighting that began on 15 November when they launched an five-day attack on a regime camp along with a coalition of other Chin armed groups fighting the dictatorship.

The CNDF says none of the resistance fighters were killed after the BA sent jet fighters and MI- 35 airships to attack them, but Khonumthung News has been unable to independently verify these claims.

The junta dispatched more airships and fired artillery in an attack on resistance forces in the Thi Mit Valley between Hakha and Thangtlang on 21 November.

The military helicopters, dispatched from Kalay town in Sagaing Region flew over Hakha town, the capital of Chin State, before bombing the hills around Thi Mit village, where they assumed there were Chin armed groups.

“After the helicopters attacked the valley, the BA attacked the area with artillery from Hakha town” firing many shells, said a Hakha man who wished to remain anonymous.

The spokesman for the Chin National Front, whose armed wing, the Chin National Army, is fighting the junta, said the regime has stepped up airstrikes in recent months.

This is a worrying trend that's also evident in other areas of the country where fighting is taking place.