Falam: A turning point in Myanmar's revolution?

New forces demonstrate capabilities that could reshape the country's future.

Resistance forces prepped the ground for months: identifying command centers, designating prisoner-of-war camps, establishing a network of clandestine clinics. Then, on November 10, the campaign began — coordinated attacks on junta positions in the Chin towns of Falam and Mindat.

Success came quickly. Dozens of police officers surrendered in Falam, while Mindat fell completely by December 21. Nervously watching, junta troops in nearby Kanpetlet fled to the lowlands the following day.

The Last Holdout

But one holdout remained — a hilltop base overlooking Falam. Some of the 120 junta soldiers kept their guns trained on a stretch of road visible from their position, spraying bullets at anyone attempting to enter the town.

Their commander confiscated their phones. The resistance severed their water supply. Attempts to send reinforcements by helicopter failed under gunfire. For some soldiers — accompanied by their wives and children — a sense of dread must have deepened with each missed airborne supply, as the Chin closed in.

But the junta ordered them to stay.