More than 10,000 residents of Phaungbyin Township in Sagaing Region’s Mawlaik District have reportedly fled their homes as a Myanmar military flotilla moved upriver along the Chindwin River on 14 August, accompanied by fighter jets and an Mi-35 attack helicopter. Residents began evacuating, according to local sources, as the convoy approached communities along both banks of the river. The flotilla reportedly consists of 27 flat-bottomed cargo vessels carrying mainly jade and timber, accompanied by three military vessels. The vessels also opened fire with heavy weapons during the passage, prompting residents to leave before the convoy reached their communities.
The scale of the air support is particularly remarkable. Local sources said two jet fighters conducted three strikes near Thinga and Khawe villages, while an Mi-35 attack helicopter operating from Homalin Airbase conducted strikes on Laik Pantha village. The combination of naval fire, fixed-wing airstrikes, and attack-helicopter support indicates that the Chindwin convoy is being treated as an active combat operation rather than a routine logistics movement.
The Tatmadaw has increasingly relied on the river to move personnel, ammunition, fuel, and other supplies into the Upper Chindwin, where resistance forces have repeatedly attacked or obstructed military vessels. The current operation follows a broader contest for the Chindwin waterway. The river is one of the principal transport routes connecting central Myanmar with Homalin and Hkamti in the north. During the monsoon, higher water levels make the river particularly useful for large cargo vessels, allowing the military to bypass damaged or contested roads.
However, that advantage also makes the flotillas vulnerable to attacks from riverbanks controlled or influenced by resistance forces. A similar pattern was reported in July, when a military convoy of more than two dozen vessels, moving through Phaungbyin, came under repeated attacks, and military aircraft provided air cover along the riverbank.
The Upper Chindwin has also become an important area of resistance control. In November 2023, joint forces of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the People’s Defense Force (PDF) captured Shwe Pyi Aye in Homalin Township. Since then, these resistance groups have maintained control over the town and its surrounding areas, successfully resisting a major Tatmadaw counter-offensive in early 2024. Alongside these strongholds, more resistance-held villages have been documented across neighboring Phaungbyin Township.
Throughout 2025, the KIA and allied PDF units repeatedly established strategic blockades along the Chindwin River near Shwe Pyi Aye. Their main objective was to block the waterway and prevent Tatmadaw reinforcements, fuel, and ammunition from reaching isolated military garrisons further north in Homalin and Hkamti. In response to losing vital routes, the Tatmadaw shifted its strategy by deploying increasingly massive cargo flotillas upriver.
These supply runs are no longer routine logistical movements. Instead, these are increasingly being conducted as full-scale combat operations. The heavily loaded fleets move under the protection of parallel ground forces and continuous air cover from Homalin Airbase. This ongoing pattern shows that maintaining freedom of movement along the Chindwin River has become essential for the Tatmadaw to sustain its northern outposts and prevent the KIA and PDF from fully consolidating control over this vital water corridor.
The Chindwin River is also important as a link to the transport network around Kalewa, where Myanmar has planned an inland port to support river trade with India and Bangladesh. Government plans also identify Kalewa as an important trade point between Myanmar and India, while the Chindwin is increasingly used to transport goods from Monywa and Mandalay to areas farther north. Another planned inland port at Monywa is expected to improve trade links with India, China, and Thailand. These projects show that the river has long been seen as an important route for trade and regional connectivity.
The land corridor linked to Kalewa is also strategically important. India’s India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway runs from Moreh in India’s Manipur State through Tamu, Kalay, Kalewa, Yagyi, and Monywa before continuing toward central Myanmar and Thailand. India has funded key parts of the Myanmar section, including the 120.74-kilometer Kalewa-Yagyi road and 69 bridges along the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa route. In June and July 2026, the Tatmadaw launched a major offensive to reopen the Kalay-Tamu and Kalewa-Yagyi-Monywa routes after resistance forces disrupted parts of these corridors. Tatmadaw later announced that the Kalewa-Yagyi-Monywa road had reopened, while military operations continued to secure the Kalay-Tamu route.
The conflict’s proximity to the Indian border further increases the strategic importance of the area. Depending on the sector, the Chindwin River corridor is approximately 40 to 70 kilometers from India’s northeastern states of Manipur and Nagaland. In the northern Homalin sector, the distance is roughly 40 to 50 kilometers. By road, however, the route from Kalewa to the Tamu-Moreh border crossing is much longer because of the region’s difficult terrain, with the wider Moreh-Tamu-Kalewa corridor extending roughly 150 to 170 kilometers.
This creates a clear contradiction in the region. The Tamu-Kalewa-Monywa corridor is officially promoted as a route for trade, infrastructure development, and regional connectivity, yet parts of it have become battlefields where the military uses artillery, fighter jets, helicopters, and armed river convoys to regain control. The contrast is especially clear along the Chindwin, where infrastructure meant to support trade and movement exists alongside military operations that force communities to flee.
Human consequences have been severe. More than 10,000 residents from villages including Nan Maw Laik, Myoma, Thazi, Kayar, Kone Taung, Kone Tay, Yay Auk Taung, Maw Pa Lin, Hae Nim, In Paut, Kan Htu Chaung, and Sanga have reportedly fled as the flotilla passed. Many families had already been displaced by flooding and were forced to flee again. A displaced Phaungbyin resident said, “even getting around means wading through mud. Some of the children have fallen ill. We’re sheltering under trees in the forest,” Flooding, muddy terrain, disrupted transport, and ongoing military operations have left civilians with few safe places to go.
The latest displacement also follows artillery attacks in the township. On 11 August, Tatmadaw forces firing from Shwe Bo Nan Pwint Taung reportedly struck Minyar village, killing one woman and injuring two others. Together with the subsequent river operation and airstrikes, these incidents suggest continued military pressure across Phaungbyin.
Ultimately, the escalation along the Chindwin River shows that the Tatmadaw is fighting to maintain its control over a vital supply and transport route in northern Myanmar. A corridor intended to support trade and regional connectivity has now become a zone of airstrikes, armed convoys, and mass displacement. The situation reveals that development cannot be sustained without security and stability. As long as military operations continue, communities along the Chindwin will bear the greatest cost, while the roads and waterways meant to connect Myanmar to the region remain disrupted by conflict.
Verification Note: The information in this report has been compiled from multiple credible sources and cross-checked for consistency. Data and reports have been used to corroborate events where possible. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, access limitations may prevent independent verification of all details. Map created using Google My Maps.
Afiya Ibnath Ayshi is a Security and Strategic Reporting Fellow at Bangladesh Defence Journal. She covers defence, foreign affairs, and humanitarian issues, focusing on how regional and global developments influence Bangladesh’s security and diplomacy. A graduate in English from the University of Dhaka, she brings a research-based and balanced approach to her work.
