The Myanmar army has abducted more than 30 residents from villages on the upper reaches of the Irrawaddy River in Shwegu Township, Kachin State, according to local residents.
Around 8 am on 8 August, 30 junta soldiers in two iron-clad vessels arrived at Shwegulay, Shwebonthar and Ngapaukwa villages on the upper reaches of the Shwegu River and arrested more than 30 people, said a resident of Ngapaukwa village.
“They came very early in the morning and rounded up the villagers. They took them to the ironclad boats,” he said.
A local activist from Shwegu said the junta soldiers kidnapped the villagers with the intention of putting them on the nine military ships that were sailing up the river, which left Mandalay Region on 26 July.
“They probably arrested the villagers to use them as human shields. Among those arrested are some residents of Shwebonthar and Shwegulay. They have arrested about 30-40 people and brought them to Shwegu. I think they will be taken away by boat today. I’m sure they are preparing for that,” he said.
Among those arrested by the junta are local men and women, most of them from Ngapaukwa village.
A local man close to the People’s Defence Forces- Shwegu said that the junta has often arrested people as human shields when its military vessels traveled up the river between Shwegu and Banmauk..
“They have often resorted to arresting people as human shields when they have suffered setbacks. They have arrested and detained civilians in the belief that they will not be attacked if the civilians are with them. The more losses they suffer, the more often they arrest people. The local defense forces opened fire on them once yesterday. But it wasn’t a good artillery strike,” he said.
According to locals, the nine junta ships brought more than 50 prisoners from Tigyaing Prison as human shields as they headed to Katha Prison after getting into a firefight with PDF along the banks of the Irrawaddy River.
Junta soldiers also fired artillery indiscriminately from the Shwegu jetty on the morning of 7 August. They also fired artillery continuously at the western part of Shwegu on the evening of 8 August, according to locals.
However, residents of villages in the western part of Shwegu had already fled to safer places two days before the junta ships arrived, resulting in no casualties.
Sent by KNG.