Burma army continues killing unarmed civilians in Hpakant

PEOPLE ARE COLLECTING JADESTONES AT A JAKE MINE IN HPAKANT, WESTERN KACHIN STATE.

Troops from Burma's armed forces are continuing to kill unarmed civilians in the Hpakant (or Hpakan) jade mining area of Kachin State, according to eyewitnesses on the ground.

On Sunday January 15 at 9 am two unarmed villagers were killed and four injured when Burmese soldiers opened fire in New Seng Ra, a village located between Lawng Hkang and Ginsi in Hpakant township, eyewitnesses reported.  The attack on the villagers appeared to be in response to several Burmese soldiers having being seriously injured on a nearby road when a suspected Kachin Independence Army land mine detonated.

According to eyewitnesses when villagers saw troops approaching the village many tried to flee which is when the Burmese soldiers responded by opening fire.  The two dead villagers were Burman men who were originally from lower Burma, according to their friends.  The soldiers who carried out the attack were from the Kathar-based Light Infantry Battalion No. 309 under Northwestern Regional Military Command, according to the surviving villagers.

Four other injured survivors have been sent to hospital for treatment.  The most seriously injured was a Kachin man who was shot in the abdomen area and a Kachin woman who received a bullet in her right arm, say friends of the victims.  Also badly injured were ethnic Burman women who suffered an ankle injury and a Burman man who was injured on his left leg.

Also in the same area on January 11, a pregnant Kachin school teacher named Mangshang Wing Wang and her sister-in-law were fired at by government soldiers from Waingmaw-based Infantry Battalion No. 58.

The two injured women were sent to Kamaing hospital but Mangshang Wing Wang, who was four months pregnant, died of her injuries.  Her sister-in-law remains badly injured.

According to a local jade miner, the presence of Burmese troops in the the Hpakant area has caused great fear among local villagers, when the troops come to a village they often shoot at unarmed civilians to intimidate them.

Burmese soldiers loot villager's homes and livestock
In addition to shooting at unarmed civilians Burmese army soldiers in the Hpakant area have been busy stealing villagers property and livestock, according to angry Hpakant residents.

Last week troops from Infantry Battalion No. 58 led by Major Aung Ko Latt looted a large amount of fish from a family run firm owned and operated by Htang Len in Hkrai Run village (Tada-nyi-naung) located on the Hpakant road, according to residents.  Troops also under Major Aung Ko Latt’s command looted goods from homes in Hkrai Run village, according to residents.

Since fighting broke between the Kachin Indepence Organization (KIO) and the Burmese government last June, business owners in the area Hpakant say they must now pay tax to both Burmese officials and the KIO.