Exploiting Ethnic Conflicts in Attempt to Consolidate Military Control 2.1 Exploitation by the Junta By capitalizing on tensions between the AA and Arakanese, on one hand, and Chin people, on the other, as well as on inter-Chin tensions, pro-military Telegram channels amplify existing ethnic tensions. Various accounts were concocted in which Chin people and their region suffered from oppression and exploitation by the AA. These accounts included anecdotes of Chin youth in Paletwa fleeing their homes due to the AA’s mandatory conscription of young people into its ranks, and Chin Defense Force’s (CDF) retaliatory response to this action was portrayed as the primary catalyst in rendering Paletwa into a battlefield. The AA was portrayed as responsible not only for bringing open warfare to Chin region but also for sowing division among various Chin groups and turning them against each other. Additionally, promilitary Telegram channels mentioned that Paletwa was suffering from warfare more than Rakhine due to the AA’s military operation which intended to further Arakanese interests. Phrases such as “Paletwa is being used as a proxy battlefield”, “Chin people were killed and wounded while Arakanese are reaping profit” were employed not only to describe the conflict in Paletwa but also to turn one group against the other by comparing two ethnic groups. Chin revolutionary forces were blamed “for their inability to defend their own land”. This criticism also aimed to elicit their retaliatory reaction to the AA. Meanwhile, the AA was portrayed as also bent on “putting Mindat and Kanpetlet under its control and expanding its dominion within Chin region”. Moreover, these channels also intentionally disseminated rumors, stating that AA forced Khumi women to marry incapacitated AA combatants. 17