Precis

In a remote corner of north western Myanmar, a civil war you’ve never heard of is underway.

The people of the Chin State are locked in a deadly conflict with Myanmar’s ruthless military machine – the Tatmadaw.

Crossing into Myanmar from northeast India, reporter Matt Davis has gained exclusive access to the Chin resistance.

As he travels across rivers and on mountain passes, he meets the people who’ve given up everything to fight Myanmar’s military junta.

Living in jungle camps and makeshift villages, students and farmers, doctors and engineers are organising into civilian defence units to defeat the Tatmadaw. The region has seen some of the heaviest fighting yet in the 18-month-long civil war.

Davis spends time with 28-year-old Cung, an agricultural worker who joined the Chin Defence Forces 18 months ago. He’s now the Commander in Chief of his battalion. Armed with little more than single-shot rifles and homemade explosives, he and his young fighters have transformed into a fearsome guerrilla force.

"This is our land, this is our place," he says. "They can't defeat us, the only thing they can do is burn our homes, our churches. We hunt them like wolves."

Davis travels close to the centre of the current conflict, the strategic hillside town of Thantlang, recently taken by the Tatmadaw. Its 12000 residents have fled.

In a hilltop hospital, not far from Thantlang, a young Chin doctor, Dr Amos, and his wife Rebecca, a nurse, struggle to care for the wounded.

"The hardest bit has been getting medicines and operating equipment," says Dr Amos.

Nearby, Davis meets 16-year-old Emily. Before Thantlang was taken, she was a high school student. Now she’s a refugee in her own country, her life on pause.

She hasn't seen her school friends in months. "I miss them so much," she says. "I am alone."

The Chin people are begging for the international community to help them. They want sanctions imposed against the Tatmadaw and weapons supplies.

But with the war in Ukraine occupying the headlines, Myanmar’s bitter civil war has been overlooked.

Dr Sui Khar, a leader of the Chin National Front, says the Chin will not give up.

"Under this military dictatorship … the youth have already convinced themselves that their future is nothing," he says. "That's why this is the once and for all war, to eliminate this military dictatorship."

This powerful film shines a light on a forgotten conflict.

Episode teaser

Music

00:10

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: 18 months after the Myanmar military launched a coup, the country is in the midst of a brutal civil war. Across the nation thousands of young people have put their lives on hold to join an armed struggle against the military.

00:13

SONG: "With sheer brute force we've come out, a fighting force from north and south."

00:29

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Some of the fiercest resistance to the coup is coming from the mostly Christian Chin community in the remote west of the country. Out-gunned but determined, they are proving to be a formidable force.

00:34

SALAI LING: The people have, for the first time, a real opportunity to get rid of the military. However powerful it might be, the military is the underdog now.

00:50

SONG: "The Chinland Defence Force!"

00:59

CUNG: Our tactic is like wolf hunting.

01:03

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Today, what do you hope to do?

SOLDIER: Kill them.

01:06

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: In this exclusive report we travel deep inside Myanmar to the Chin frontline. Along our journey we meet those determined to defeat the military once and for all.

01:09

EMILY: If we live, we live together. If we die, we die together.

01:22

Music

01:26

Title: Myanmar's Forgotten War

01:35

Pop stars perform

Music

01:42

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Before the coup these Chin pop stars were loved by fans across Myanmar.

01:46

Benjamin, David and Thawng in recording studio

Today, they are refugees, raising money to help support those affected by the war at home.

01:54

[Singing]

02:00

BENJAMIN SUM: Some will fight, some will support, some will sing, like us. I am a freedom fighter with a guitar.

02:07

In car with Benjamin, David and Thawng

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Benjamin Sum, David Lai and Thawng Bawi today call themselves 'guys from Chin'.

02:14

Drone shots. Aizawl

I meet them in the Indian city of Aizawl, before we cross the border into Myanmar.

02:22

In car with Benjamin, David and Thawng, Driving into Myanmar

DAVID LAI: The military people, if they want, they can go anywhere and pick anyone, and arrest them, and kill them.

02:31

BENJAMIN SUM: The fact that they do whatever they want to do, that is the worst thing – nobody feels safe. Especially our families. Sometimes they will call me and "Oh Ben, they are shooting in front of our house and we're under the bed. We don't know where to hide. You know, I can't do nothing."

02:38

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Like many who have been forced to flee Myanmar, they watch on as their country falls apart.  Leaving Aizawal behind, we head for the long porous border between India and Myanmar.

02:57

Map Myanmar showing Chin State

Chin state – or Chinland as its known to the locals – is one of the most remote and least developed regions in the country.

03:16

Border crossing in long boat

03:25

Davis to camera in boat. Super:
Matt Davis
Reporter

We've just jumped on board a long boat to cross the India/Myanmar border. On one side is peace, the other – total war.

03:30

But this is a forgotten war. We're on our way to Chinland to meet some of those who have given up everything to fight for their country – to fight for freedom.

03:37

Crossing river border. Super:
Chin State, Myanmar

Since the war began, this part of Chin state has been cut off from the rest of the country, with the military blocking supply lines. Locals now depend on cross border trade for food, medicine, even motorbikes.

03:47

Davis in car, to camera

This is our journey to Chinland, it's just begun, and I'm pretty sure that it's going to get a lot more bumpy from here.

04:15

Muddy road/Car bogged

Our first stop is the headquarters of the local Chinland Defense Force. But getting even that far is no easy task.

04:28

Millions beside car

MILLIONS: It is a little bit muddy here. The car cannot go.

04:37

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: What's your name?

MILLIONS: Millions.

04:46

Davis and others push car

04:51

CDF headquarters with Millions

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Our guide and one of the camp leaders is Min Lian Thang – known as Millions.

"Can you believe you're here? Did you see this happening in your life?

04:56

MILLIONS: No. I'd like to study in a foreign country, but after the military coup, our life is happening like this.

05:06

Young people at HQ

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: The Chinland Defense Force, or the CDF, is made up of young people fighting the Burmese military, also known as the Tatmadaw.

05:23

MILLIONS: We have the commitment to win and we will fight until we win. I am 28 years old, only. Most people in CDF are between 18 and 25.

05:32

Millions interview

Of course they will miss their home. That's all. They will miss their home.

05:49

Young people at CDF HQ

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Across the country, young people are living in jungle camps like these, sacrificing their dreams to  fight against this military dictatorship.

SALAI LING:  The military thought that they would be able to control the population by imposing fear. But the people have had enough. This time around, they

05:57

Salai Ling 100%. Super:
Salai Za Uk Ling
Chin Human Rights Organisation

are resolute in their determination to put this to an end, once and for all. 

06:18

CNA train

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: For decades Chinland has had its own armed force - the Chin National Army, or the CNA. It's been providing training and guidance to some of these recently founded youth battalions. Two armed CNA soldiers have been sent to provide security for us as we head towards the frontline.

06:28

Travel to frontline

Music

06:56

Davis on motorbike travelling to displaced persons camp

We are making our way towards Thantlang, where the Burmese Army has displaced thousands of people. We are about to come across a camp and meet some of them. The further we go, the bumpier it gets. On the edge of Salen village is a makeshift camp for internally displaced people, or IDPs. The people here all fled the nearby town of Thantlang.

"What happened to your house?"

EMILY: Since February it's burned,

07:04

Emily 100%

and we flee, because of the Tatmadaw (the Myanmar military). I am afraid of them. They shoot the gun at night. Every night. Scared. So scared!

07:39

Emily in camp

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: 16 year old Emily Van Siang Zi is now one of over a million IDPs inside Myanmar.

07:55

Dawt Ching Sung 100%

DAWT CHING SUNG: This is no environment for a kid to grow up in.

08:02

Dawt Ching Sung with family

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Dawt Chin Sung and her family fled here with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

DAWT CHING SUNG: We are thinking about our future, about how we will survive.

08:09

Dawt Ching Sung 100%

We can't live like this for too long.

08:22

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: With the monsoon season about to begin, I am told there is a real risk of famine.

08:28

Monsoon rain in camp

There is rain, there is mud.

08:36

Davis to camera

In fact half the camp seems to be washing down the street as we sit here in the dry. This is the reality for these IDPs. They have lost everything due to this war, and you know, they really desperately need some help.

08:41

Monsoon clouds over mountains

Since July last year the Tatmadaw has been blocking international aid to this region.

SALAI LING:  The abuser

08:59

Salai Ling 100% / Drone shot over camp

is the one who is dictating the terms of the aid distribution. I often compare the situation to the crisis in the Ukraine. How would people feel if Russians were to be the one in charge of the aid operation in Ukraine?

09:08

MILLIONS: I am going to pick up the car.

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: What happened to the other car?

09:30

Millions on motorbike

MILLIONS: The car is not good.

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Tough road in Chinland.

09:35

Travelling over mountain

Millions finds us another car and we are on our way. Our next stop is Tikir hospital. Perched on a mountaintop, it is the only medical facility in this entire region.

09:44

Tikir hospital

Music

10:00

Dr Amos walks

DR AMOS: Since my childhood, it was my dream to become a doctor.

10:08

Dr Amos and Rebecca with patients

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Like so many professionals, surgeon Amos Dawt Za Hmungʻs career was turned upside down after the coup. He and his wife Rebecca – a nurse – joined the nationwide civil disobedience movement – the CDM. It is a general strike aimed at bringing the government to its knees.

10:15

Dr Amos prepares for surgery

DR AMOS: At that time the military released a statement – all doctors who do CDM, they can arrest us. I don't want to work under the military government.

10:35

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Leaving the city of Yangon, they returned to Chinland and treated patients in secret clinics.  When the regime attacked their home of Thantlang, they fled here and took over this abandoned hospital to treat civilians and resistance fighters.

10:51

Dr Amos with injured soldiers

DR AMOS: This is a mortar injury. Yesterday in Thantlang there was a battle. He is also CDF.

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Is he hoping to go back to join his battalion?

DR AMOS: Yes, he is so eager to go back.

11:09

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: This young fighter's eyes were damaged in a blast, his body peppered with sulphur. But even his mother is keen for him to return to the battle.

"Are you proud of him

11:26

Mother

fighting in the CDF?"

MOTHER: Oh yes, I'm very proud of him! I have three sons in the CDF. This one works with landmines.

11:37

Injured soldier

CDF SOLDIER: I was injured while making a landmine. There were three of us. Both of my friends died in the explosion.

11:49

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Are you afraid, fighting this war?

CDF SOLDIER: No.

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: If they're caught by the Burmese soldier, what happens to them? 

12:02

Dr Amos interview

DR AMOS: They broke their arms. They broke their legs. And in recent battles, this time, they don't even cut the throat, cut off the head, they just tortured with lots of incisions in the neck. 

12:1

Davis eats with Dr Amos

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Amos and Rebecca were lucky to escape Thantlang with their lives.

12:36

Baby

"Was he born here?"

REBECCA: Yes, yes.

12:47

Dr Amos with baby son

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: They rely heavily on each other to keep this hospital functioning.

How does your wife think about this, the revolution?

12:51

Dr Amos interview

DR AMOS: My wife is the best supporter for me. When we arrive here, we ran from Thantlang, she is still pregnant and we have a baby... Sometimes I want to go to the place where it is safe, but this is the final fight. We have to do our best.

13:01

Music

13:49

Travelling to Thantlang

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Leaving the hospital behind, we head to the edge of Thantlang township where the fighting continues.

13:57

Walking towards frontline

MILLIONS: Let's go. This is one of the frontline. It's a little bit dangerous there, so by foot is better.

14:07

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: This is the CDF camp here at Mt Vuichip. It's a high point where we can look down safely – but we'll be able to see Thantlang, the frontline, where the military have been burning homes down for the past six months or so.

14:20

Drone shots. Homes burning. Super:
September 2021

When a Tatmadaw soldier is killed, the military retaliates by burning down homes and churches.

14:38

Super: MAY 2022

It's estimated that over 1300 buildings have been destroyed.

14:48

Davis overlooking Thantlang

There it is. That is the frontline, between the Burmese military, and the people of Chin. The Tatmadaw, the Burmese military, have been burning down more homes today.

14:55

That town was once home to 12,000 people, it's now empty.

15:09

Davis with Cung

Millions introduces me to Cung Hlei Thwang – the commander in chief.

"Thank you for having us."

15:14

Cung on walkie talkie

CUNG: "Come in come in, are you receiving us? Over."

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Cung was a founding member of CDF Thantlang

15:24

Phone footage, Cung in firefight. Super:
CDF Thantlang phone video

and one of the first to pick up arms, filmed here in a firefight.

15:29

Cung on walkie talkie. Soldier launches drone

CUNG: "We know there were soldiers were in the Van Thio area. They may still be there so be careful."

SOLDIER: "Copy that."

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: To help monitor the movements of the Tatmadaw, they fly commercially available drones.

"Did you fly drones before?"

15:47

Soldier

SOLDIER:  Yes, I am also a journalist before this revolution.

16:07

Soldiers fly drone

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: The military never expected such fierce resistance. Today, their barracks are surrounded and they unable to move freely.

16:12

Cung interview

CUNG:  Our tactic is like wolf hunting. If they come here I will call my team over and they follow them. This is our land – we are experts everywhere.

16:28

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Some of your CDF members are very young; they're not professional soldiers.

CUNG: Yes.

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: But maybe now.

CUNG: Yes, but it's very difficult to lead them. Because before we are students – we did not know how to shoot, we didn't know how to carry a gun, everything.

16:44

CDF fighters with weapons / Cung with old rifle

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: The young CDF fighters are hugely outgunned by the Tatmadaw – a modern military with Russian-supplied weapons. They have managed to acquire some automatic weapons from across the border or from killed or captured Burmese soldiers, but many still fight with old hunting rifles.

CUNG:  It is a very big problem, the bullets get stuck.

17:11

Cung and soldier attempt to dislodge bullet

17:44

MATT DAVIS, Reporter:  If that was to happen, get stuck like that in battle, you would be in big trouble. No choice, you have to run.

CUNG: Yeah, we have no choice. We run.

18:00

Soldiers at lookout

The weapons are very important to us. We really need them if we are going to win. 

18:19

Young CDF fighter interview

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Given the imbalance in weaponry, the CDF relies heavily on snipers. This fighter shot a Tatmadaw soldier a few days earlier.

18:27

SOLDIER: The first shot was successful. When I shot him I was happy, but it was difficult to sleep that night. I dreamt about what happened. I am not cold-blooded enough yet.

18:39

MATT DAVIS, Reporter:  What happens if the Tatmadaw catches you or one of your comrades?

SOLDIER:  They will kill – they will kill us. They have no mercy.

19:03

Photos. Slaughter of villagers. Super:
Radio Free Asia

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Civilians have also been routinely tortured and killed across Myanmar.

19:13

Shocking images, obtained by Radio Free Asia, show the slaughter of 27 male villagers in the neighbouring state of Sagaing. The phone's owner and two fellow soldiers can be seen boasting after their killing spree.

19:20

Soldiers boast of killings

SOLDIER: Had to cut them in three parts. I killed those I caught.  For us, we even killed a lot by slitting their throats.  There were many killed by slitting throats.  I myself killed five. I’m and expert in killing. I have been interested in killing since I was a child.

19:37

SALAI LING:  If these are not war crimes, I don't know what is, because it's

20:00

Salai Ling interview / Photos of killings. Super:
Salai Za Uk Ling
Chin Human Rights Organisation

deliberately targeted at the civilian population. The methods that they use, be it the killing of a child, burning of bodies,  destroying evidence, they knowingly commit war crimes. These are well documented by the way. 

20:06

Cung looks at maps

CUNG: I hear about my people being killed, but we don't have enough weapons to protect them. I look to heaven and ask God "How can I fight back?" 

20:28

Cung prepares materials for battle

These bullets are very old. They get stuck in the gun. This we create ourselves. We burn in here this fuse...using a cigarette we burn here and then we check if its burning. Then we count 5...1-2-3-4-5...then we throw.

20:50

Cung on motorbike

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: The next morning, Cungʻs assistant takes him to prepare for an attack on the Tatmadaw.

21:21

Cung and soldiers prepare weapons

They've all been to the frontline before?

CUNG: Yes. They have experience.

21:30

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Today, what do you hope to do.

SOLDIER: Kill them.

21:40

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Have you lost anyone before on the frontline?

CUNG: Yes, now six people.

21:49

Battalion heads off. Super:
THE SOUND OF A BATTLE CRY
by P. Thwang Bawi

SONG: "CDF soldiers on the march with a noble mission for victory. And duty on our shoulders in pursuit of the barbaric enemies. Stand by us oh dear elders!

21:56

With sheer brute force we've come out, a fighting force from north and south.  Let our marching echo through the hills, our dreams become reality.  In the Chinland Defence Force!"

22:13

Davis on motorbike to camera

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: So we've just left the CDF Thantlang battalion as they head off for an operation over there, not far from here. We're actually driving past the town of Thantlang on a single track, two bikes. We're on our way to Camp Victoria to meet up with the Chin National Army. It's a wild ride ahead.

22:41

Travelling to Camp Victoria

Music

22:59

Camp Victoria

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Camp Victoria is the jungle headquarters of the Chin national army. One of many ethnic armies in Myanmar's border regions, the CNA was established over 30 years ago to protect the Chin population against Tatmadaw persecution  Since the coup, the CNA oversees many of the newly formed resistance groups in Chinland.

23:16

Dr Sui Khar jogging

The highest ranked official here is Dr Sui Khar.

DR SUI KHAR: Every morning I listen to RFA, VOA, BBC, so when I am doing my morning exercise I stay informed, be informed every day. Update yourself.

23:41

Dr Sui Khar into church

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Since the coup, the numbers of young CNA recruits has increased dramatically.

DR SUI KHAR: These young people, they should not be in an armed revolution, they should be in their education or other work. When I talk to them,

24:04

Dr Sui 100%. Super:
Dr Sui Khar. Chin National Army

what they say to me is very clear; they would like to be the last generation who suffer from this military dictatorship.

24:32

Singing in church

[Singing]

24:44

Dr Sui 100%

DR SUI KHAR:  I am very proud of this young people, because they sacrificed their today for the future of the younger generation.

25:10

 Emily leaves church on back of motorbike

25:20

Emily in uniform on motorbike

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: 22 year old Emily grew up in a village in Chinland. Before the coup

25:30

Photos. Emily pre-army

she was studying international law in the former capital Yangon. Overnight, everything changed.

EMILY: I was a bit scared because I had never fought in a war before,

25:36

Emily interview

but for my people and my country I am prepared to fight. We got training and it was very hard, but I got through it. Now I can use a gun.

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: So with all that training, if a Burmese solider came past here now, could you kill him?

EMILY: Yeah. Yeah. No problem.

25:50

Emily firing rifle

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: But the reality of war for these new recruits

26:15

Injured soldiers on beds

can be devastating. These two soldiers were injured while clearing Tatmadaw land mines.

"What were you doing before the coup?"

26:20

AMOS: I just opened a barber shop. I was going to cut hair.

26:30

Soldiers walk through bushland

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: In joining this resistance, these young fighters have given up everything: their families, relationships, careers and mod cons.

"What did you do before?"

26:39

Julia digging

JULIA: I'm a student of a university. Engineer. First year.

26:52

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: Are you more stronger than the boys?

JULIA: Yeah, I think so!

26:58

Soldiers digging trenches

EMILY: The women are very important. Although we're here they don't usually ask us to hold guns.

27:07

Emily interview

It could be because weapons are in short supply. We women also want to hold guns and fight like the men.

27:14

Soldiers bathe in rain

SALAI LING: When you talk about the resistance force, it's not just the people who are wielding arms,

27:27

Salai Ling interview

it's the entire population that are behind those people. So the military is facing resistance from every citizen, every living being inside the country. However powerful it might be, the military is the underdog now.

DR SUI KHAR: These days

27:34

Dr Sui interview

you can get information easily because all people are our intelligence.

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: The people of Chinland?

DR SUI KHAR:  Not only Chinland – the whole country. When the army takes one step from their camp, people send all the information across the country.

27:54

Road through mountain. Davis with soldiers

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: The Myanmar resistance is calling on the international community to provide weapons and money and impose though sanctions on the regime.

SALAI LING: The regional response to this has been abysmal. We have seen policy statements condemning the regime and the mass killings and everything, but no serious political action that accompanies those statements. Regional countries, especially democratic countries like India, Australia –

28:17

Salai Ling interview

get your act together and don't delay things. The longer you delay, the harder it will be to help Burma get back on the path of democratization More people will die in the process and that's not in the interest of anyone.

28:53

Cung overlooks town

CUNG: I will copy some developed country and I will rebuild my town. I can't wait to rebuild my town.

29:25

Shortly after we left, Cung suffered multiple injuries

29:35

Photos. Cung leg injuries

while helping make explosives. He is recovering in hospital, and plans to be back to lead his troops as soon as possible.

29:40

Cung on back of bike with Bawi

His assistant, Bawi Za Ceu, died in the blast.

29:50

SONG: "I am just a public servant. Here I stand my ground on the frontline. Never mind the oppression or intimidation. I have given it all.

29:55

Dr Amos and Rebecca in hospital

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: What do you need to help win this fight? 

30:06

DR AMOS: What we mostly need is the weapon. With weapons we can win. 

30:10

Davis with Millions

MILLIONS: We young people have a lot of spirit. Of course we can win this war.

30:18

Davis on back of motorbike

SONG: "My head unbowed and with clenched fists…"

30:26

MATT DAVIS, Reporter: As we leave Chinland and head back to the safety of India, it is clear - the people are not backing down.

David Lai sings. Credit start [see below]

30:39

Outpoint

31:20