Members of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) reportedly used local villagers as human shields in a raid on the Jaryang militia camp located in Mong Yaw area in Lashio Township, Shan State.
When the TNLA raided the Jaryang village-based Kachin Defense Army (KDA), which is under the military council, at 4 am on Feb. 4 with three columns of more than 400 soldiers, they abducted about 70 villagers, including children, and used them as human shields, a woman from the village told Kachin News Group (KNG).
“At that time, the day hadn’t yet dawned. They slammed open the door and we were taken away. Among us were a child just over a year old and a pregnant mother. There were seven of us women. All the men were tied up and some of them were beaten with rifle butts and taken to the KDA camp. They let us lead the way and followed us from behind. When we arrived in front of the camp, they forced us to shout “Open the door” loudly, but none of us dared to do so. They separated us into Kachin and Ta’ang groups and intimidated us,” recounted the woman who was brought to the KDA camp as a human shield.
In total, seven women and about 60 men, including a pregnant mother and a child, were taken to the militia camp.
In addition, TNLA troops looted one house after another in the village and took valuables such as cash and motorcycles, she added.
“They broke the children’s piggy bank and tithes and took all the cash. From some houses they took necklaces and cash worth MMK 1,000,000, and from some houses they even took the children’s vaccination records. They stole all the phones they found and more than 20 motorcycles from the village,” the woman said.
Jaryang village is located in the territory of KDA Brigade-2 and it was their 200-strong camp stationed at the foot of the hill near the village that was raided by TNLA troops, resulting in the arrest of local villages as human shields.
The PSLF/TNLA information team issued a statement on 6 January that “the Jaryang militia was able to liberate the Ta’ang people who had been forcibly abducted for military service.”
In an attempt to verify the villagers’ claims, the KNG contacted PSLF/TNLA officials by telephone several times but received no response.
“The KDA camp is a militia. We don’t even force the villages to join our militia, but some of them, whom we treat as brothers, join the KDA of their own will. Recently, the TNLA has recruited too many soldiers. This has worried parents and some have even sent their children to our camp. Some children who could not afford thier education came to the camp and grew up there while continuing their education. Among those they (TNLA) took are two girls who are studying in the second year of higher education and we supported them. We also supported them to study at the medical school.”
The militiaman also admitted that some families have moved to the military camp because the KDA does not allow children to continue their education until they have learned the military rules.
The TNLA raid came on 4 February after the TNLA repeated demanded the release of the Ta’ang people for the past month, who have been in the Jaryang militia camp.
“Whenever leaders from both sides have met, they have always said that we have set up camps in Ta’ang territory. That said, we also have Ta’ang brothers in our militia. In recent months, they have asked us to return all their tribal people to them. Because we refused, they invaded that morning with a large number of troops. We were not much less strong, but we didn’t shoot at them because they put the villagers in front of them as human shields. It wasn’t like a battle fought to protect the people. Because the villagers were there, we were put in a position to give way,” the militiaman said.
He went on to say that although there was no exchange of fire when the TNLA troops advanced to the KDA camp, they were attacked twice by the military council with helicopters on their way back.
The large village of Jaryang, located about a two-hour drive northeast of Lashio, was formerly known as Hokho Loihkam, and the Kachin Defense Army, also known as the Kawnghka People’s Militia, began establishing its military base near the village after a ceasefire in 1991.
With more than 600 households, Jaryang village is home to the majority of Kachin as well as Ta’ang and other peoples.
Sent by KNG.
