Fighting broke out between two anti-junta Chin resistance forces, the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF) and Hualngoram Chinland Defence Force (CDF) in the Hualngoram region of Chin State’s Falam Township, on 2 July 2025.
Fighting between members of the two organisations erupted in the villages of of Satawm, Lianhna, and Tuichirh at about 12:30 pm on 2 July, according to a spokesperson for Hualngoram CDF.
He said: “The fighting started when the Chin National Organisation/Chin National Defence Force [CNO/CNDF] entered our territory and provoked us with drone attacks.” The CNO is the political wing of the CNDF.
Tensions between the two groups had been rising in the Hualngoram area since the beginning of June 2025 when CNDF forces moved into the Hualngoram area and set up about three checkpoints there. Hualngoram CDF declared a state of emergency in the Hualngoram area on 16 June 2025 because it claimed that it had received complaints about the way the CNDF was treating people at its checkpoint in Khawthlir Village.
Explaining how the two groups ended up fighting the Hualngoram CDF spokesperson said: “The CNO/CNDF has been encroaching on our territory since last month and has set up several posts.
We’ve worked hard to resolve this without it turning into armed clashes and have held back from responding aggressively. But they keep expanding their deployments.
"The recent fighting should never have happened. We’ve always insisted that each Chin group respect and stay within its own territory. However, after taking control of Falam Town, it seems the CNO/CNDF now wants to take Rihkhawdar Town [in Falam Township] as well, which we’ve held since 2023. We don’t know what will happen next, and the dispute could escalate. Their actions feel like an attempt to raid one of our units. So, if necessary, we will launch a counteroffensive, though we can’t predict how extensive it will be.”
Hualngoram CDF has held Rihkhawdar Town since 13 November 2023 when it took it from the junta. The Chin Brotherhood, of which the CNDF is a member, took Falam Town from the junta on 9 April 2025.
Khonumthung News tried to contact the CNO/CNDF spokesperson Salai Timmy to ask him about the fighting but received no response.
But, on the CNO/CNDF’s Rihli Voice Facebook page, it claimed that the fighting started after Hualngoram CDF opened fire on CNDF members in Tuichirh Village.
Hualngoram CDF is affiliated to the Chinland Council which is supported by the Chin National Front (CNF) and its armed wing, the Chin National Army (CNA). The CNO/CNDF is allied to the the Chin Brotherhood and the Interim Chin National Consultative Council (ICNCC), which effectively acts as the Chin Brotherhood’s political wing.
