Burma Army Ignores UN and NCA Conventions, Targets and Arrests Shan Civilians

The Shan Human Rights Foundation alleged that recent Burma Army offensives have targeted civilians that resulted in disappearances, arrests and human rights abuses, including torture.

The Shan Human Rights Foundation said the targeting of villagers followed a clash between Burma Army soldiers from its IB 249 the ethnic armed group, the “RCSS/SSA near Hai Khai village, Nam Pha Khee tract.”

The SHRF said in a statement that the Burma Army deployed “hundreds of troops from at least seven other battalions… into the area.”

The SHRF statement said that “similar pattern of violations by different battalions, sometimes operating jointly, indicates high-level orders to persecute civilians.”

SHRF allege that Burma Army soldiers “from both the Eastern and Triangle Regional Commands carried out the large-scale arrest and torture of 19 villagers — including 2 women – in Nam Khok temple.”

The Shan Human Rights Foundation pointed out that the attacks and violations by the Burma Army “directly contravene the terms of the NCA, which prohibits torture and arbitrary arrest of civilians. By openly committing violations on this scale, the Burma Army is showing its contempt for the NCA and the entire peace process.”

The SHRF said that it was concerned that the attacks by the Burma Army on civilians showed that a disregard for the human rights of civilians or any fear of an international backlash. The SHRF said that “the fact that Burma Army troops dared torture civilians on such a large scale even while Ms Yanghee Lee, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, was in the country (from July 9 to 21), shows their confidence of impunity under the current government.”

The SHRF said it is is “gravely concerned for the fate of the seven detained villagers, particularly the 12-year-old boy, and urges their immediate and unconditional release.”