Burmese Army Indiscriminately Targeting Civilians and KIA Positions

By Tsa Doi La / Kachinland News | February 4, 2018

In retaliation to bomb attacks carried out by KIA’s 26th Battalion troops between Wing Seng and Mung Baw Hu Na villages in Muse township in northern Shan state at around 10:30 a.m. on February 1st, Burmese army troops belonging to 220th Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) recklessly fired at Mr. Mangshang La Ting and Mr. Nhkum Zau Hpan, two civilians working on a farm. Mr. Mangshang La Ting managed to escape while sustaining a wound below his neck. The Burmese soldiers reportedly seized Mr. Nhkum Zau Hpan beating him at will dragging him along with them, a frontline source reported.

Two male Kachin IDPs, Mr. Nhkum Naw and Hpunggan Yaw of Mung Hkawng IDP Camp in Mansi township were reportedly taken away by Burmese army troops belonging to 77th LIB on January 31st. The commander of of the Burmese army denied having detained any civilians when camp officials went to ask for the release of the two men. A search team was sent out to the forest on February 3rd to look for the missing men, the KLN has learnt.

Similarly on 31st January in Galeng Nam Hu village in Kutkai township, the 52-year-old Mr. Dau Gyung was taken away by Kuthkai-based Burmese army troops. The captors then got him intoxicated torturing and interrogating at will, according to a frontline source.

The fighting which broke out between KIA’s 6th Battalion and Burmese army troops in areas surrounding Nam Sheng Village on February 1st has displaced civilians from Nam Sheng and Labang Kahtawng villages in Hpakant township. Approximately 120 civilians have returned to their respective villages as fighting subsides; however, it is reported that majority of Labang Kahtawng residents are still hiding in the jungle for fear of their lives.