Civilian Killed by Landmine, Teenage Girl Raped and Over 3,600 New IDPs in Kachin State
24 April 2014 Kachin State, Burma
Civilian killed by landmine in Bhamo District
At 09:00 on 14 April 2014, a 45-year-old civilian named Mr. Mwihpu La Maw, from Mungding Pa, was killed as a landmine exploded near Tan Tada, Mansi Township, Bhamo District.
17-year-old girl raped by two Burma Army soldiers in Daw Hpum Yang Township, Kachin State
**This is a detailed account following up on the Free Burma Rangers report sent out on 21 April 2014.On 10 April 2014, 17-year-old Mangie Bawk San, daughter of Mr. Mangje La Nu and Mrs. Marip Ma Wawm of Dawhpum Kagam village, was raped by two Burma Army soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 320.
During the afternoon of 10 April, Mangie Bawk San was asked by her mother to search for cows and buffaloes. On the way home, two Burma Army soldiers took her to an old roadside restaurant on the outskirts of the village. The soldiers threatened her with a knife and a hand grenade, stating: “If you don’t let us rape you, we will stab you and blow you up”. The two men then proceeded to rape her.
The next morning, the two soldiers were worried that the villagers would spread word of the assault, so they took her to Manmaw by motorcycle. En route to Manmaw, the motorcycle had a minor crash near Takaw Bridge and one soldier’s pants ripped. While the one soldier went to a nearby Burma Army Post to change his clothes, the other soldier began fixing the motorcycle.
While they were distracted, Ms. Bawk San was able to escape, getting a ride with a Kachin man on a motorcycle. As soon as she got home, she told her mother about the what had transpired. She and her mother, along with village leaders, told the nearby Burma Army base about the rape case. A Burma Army officer stated that the two soldiers were not on the base and may have been deserters. After this, the girl, her mother and the village leaders went back home.
30 Kachin Civilians arrested by Burma Army Soldiers for Jade Mining
At 10:00 on 12 April 2014, 30 civilians in KIA 6th Battlion area of 2nd Brigade, Kachin State, were arrested by Burma Army soldiers. Upon arrest, the civilians were taken to a Burma Army base in Hpakant Township. The civilians were mining jade when Burma Army soldiers arrested them.
Latest Burma Army Activity in Kachin State
From 06:10 – 07:45 on 15 April, KIA 1st Battalion troops stationed at Dagaw Mada Post in 3rd Brigade had to decamp from one of its posts during a 100-troop advancement from Burma Army soldiers from IB 233 and LIB 601.
During the day of 15 April, a combined force of 800 Burma Army soldiers from MOC 21 and other unknown units swept the areas of Hka Wan Bang, Dagaw Chvari and Mada Bum.
On the morning of 16 April, from 04:55 – 11:05, Burma Army units led by the Division 99 commander fired MA – 7’s, 81 mm mortars from Hka Wan Bang, and 105 mm Howitzers from Sinlum Kaba. After this initial firing, combined troops from the following units launched a full-scale attack: IB 79 and LIB 14, 418, 419, 437; these troops encircling Maisak Kawng KIA post in Mansi Township, Kachin State.
On the same day, one truck loaded with artillery and arms ammunition, escorted in front and from behind by two smaller trucks, drove from Bhamo to Hka Wang Bang in Mansi Township, 3rd Brigade, Kachin State.
Additionally, Burma Army soldiers from unknown units under Division 88 began to make their operational presence known in the area where the Shweli Hydroelectric Dam is located – a dam that provides power for both Kachin State and China.
Fighting between the KIA and the BA intensified, causing the elderly, mothers and children in Hkyen Ma and Awng Nan Villages to take shelter in Mai Kung Baptist Church.
At 08:30 on 17 April, BA troops from Division 99 fired 105 mm Howtizers three times from Sinlum Kaba, aiming for the side of Chyari Bum, Mansi Township, Kachin State. They once again fired three times at the same target area at 10:30.
At 13:00 the same day, Burma Army troops sent three trucks with food rations and two trucks with arms ammunition to Nmawk and Hka Wan Bang in KIA 1st Battalion area of 3rd Brigade. Seven trucks full of BA soldiers traveled towards Sinlum from Nmawk at 14:00.
All the residents of the towns of Ulang Pa, Ban Hkang Yang and Dingga Bum fled to Manwing and Nam Hkam in KIA 27th Battalion area in 3rd Brigade. The day before, 20 people from Wa Htang Village, 148 people from Bang Awng Nan Village, and 36 people from Bum Wa Village moved to Man Kung Village due to Burma Army offensives in Dagaw and Chvari Villages.
Fighting continues daily in Kachin State, and Free Burma Rangers will continue report on the situation, and work with other local organizations to provide aid to those fleeing the fighting.
May God Bless you,
Kachin Free Burma Rangers