15 April 2026 – The State Security and Peace Commission (SSPC) held Thingyan (Water Festival) celebrations in the two towns of Hakha and Tedim, Chin State, coinciding with intense fighting nearby and ongoing conflict in the region.
State media reports claimed the four-day festival, which began on 13 April, drew large crowds, with the SSPC-appointed Chief Minister, Dr. Vung Suan Thang, attending the event in Hakha.
However, local sources in both towns offered a starkly different account, reporting that attendance was “largely limited to government staff” and included only minimal involvement from the general public.
The celebration in Tedim, hosted at a high school, marked the first time the town has held the traditional festival on a town-wide scale since the SSPC administration designated it as a district-level town in April 2022.
The attempt to promote normalcy via the festival occurs as conflict escalates across Chin State. On 15 April, Chin joint revolutionary forces successfully captured a strategic hilltop base in Falam. In response, the SSPC has intensified its aerial campaign, conducting devastating airstrikes that have targeted Mindat and Falam areas, resulting in civilian casualties and the destruction of homes.
Furthermore, the Chief Minister who attended the celebrations, Dr. Vung Suan Thang, was recently reappointed by junta leader Min Aung Hlaing despite existing corruption allegations. – Reporting by Daniel
