Junta indicted in Timor-Leste over alleged war crimes

An application for indictment has been filed in Timor-Leste over war crimes committed by the junta in Myanmar, including the brutal massacre of 10 people, among them a Khonumthung News reporter and a child.

The application was filed on January 12, 2026, at the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste, over the junta’s brutal killing of 10 people in Matupi Township, Chin State, in January 2022.

The application was submitted by Salai Za Uk, Executive Director of the Chin Human Rights Organisation (CHRO), with the support of the Myanmar Accountability Project (MAP), and was assisted by José Teixeira and Nuno Marazes, lawyers from the Timor-Leste–based law firm Da Silva Teixeira & Associados Lda.

On January 6, 2022, during an operation on the Matupi–Paletwa Road in Chin State, the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 140 (LIB 140) abducted civilians it encountered along the road and used them as human shields. Three days later, the victims were found dead with their hands tied behind their backs, most bearing slash wounds to the neck and stab wounds.

“The charges include the gang rape of a pregnant woman by junta troops, the killing of 10 people, 8 of whom had their throats slashed, and the deliberate killing of a Christian pastor and three deacons. Other cases involve an airstrike on a hospital that killed four health workers and four patients, as well as the targeted destruction of Christian churches. We have also submitted evidence to support these accusations,” said Salai Za Uk.