Warazup PMF Abducts Civilians After Fighting KIA
By Network Media Group
Thursday, July 13, 2023
After clashing with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) near Jahtuzup on Lido Road in Kachin State, five people were abducted by one of the regime’s proxy forces on the morning of 8 July.
The Warazup People’s Militia Force (PMF) held the civilians, including a woman, and tied their hands behind their backs, a man said. The Sunday morning abductions occurred a day after the KIA attacked three of their camps, including the home of U Min Zay Thant (also known as Min Zin), the group’s leader.
The source said a man named Ko Peter was accused of providing information to the KIA, while the woman who was arrested at her house in Jahtuzup allegedly posted ‘victory’ on Facebook after the attack on the PMF leader’s house. “The PMF soldiers have confiscated all their mobile phones.”
The detainees are reportedly being held at a camp in Sanpya and charged with sedition under Article 505 (a) of Burma’s Penal Code. The PMF soldiers also captured a KIA soldier alive during the fighting in Jahtuzup.
KIA Brigade 2 attacked a camp and checkpoint in Jahtuzup, a camp in Sanpya and another camp on the road to a gold mine on Saturday morning. Locals reported that the PMF suffered five dead and two injured, including the younger brother of Min Zay Thant, who was reportedly killed in Jahtuzup along with a civilian and some KIA soldiers. The shelling damaged houses in the KBC Church compound in the village. According to a PMF Telegram channel, the bodies of three KIA soldiers and some weapons were recovered.
Some of the villagers who couldn’t flee when the fighting started are now beginning to leave the area. “I think only the PMF soldiers and their family members will stay behind in the village,” said a woman who wished to remain anonymous. She said that patrolling soldiers have prevented some residents from leaving by threatening them. Since the coup, they have been using drones to monitor the area, she explained.
