Myanmar’s junta has shut down public buildings in Chin state’s Mindat town for the past three days, residents told RFA Wednesday.
Some 90% of government offices had already been closed in the town due to fighting since the military seized power in a February 2021 coup but the junta has kept the rest running, along with three schools and a hospital.
On Monday they were all shuttered.
One Mindat resident, who didn’t want to be named for safety reasons, said the junta gave no reason for the closures but troops stepped up patrols across the town.
“I am not sure why they were ordered to close,” they said.
“I don’t think it was because of the fighting [although] there are frequent ambushes in the city.”
On Jul. 30, local anti-government militia the Chin Defense Forces attacked an army truck near the forestry office in Mindat town, killing seven soldiers, the group said in a statement.
Yaw Man, the spokesperson of the Mindat Township Administration, said there has been no fighting since then. However, he said it was possible that the junta decided to close all public buildings after youths from the Chin Defense Force stole a health department vehicle.
“The junta was not satisfied and lost dignity when the vehicle was taken,” he said. “So schools and hospitals were closed because they could no longer provide security.”
RFA called the junta spokesperson for Chin state, Kyaw Soe Win, but he didn’t answer.
Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.