In Hakha, the capital of Chin State, the junta has carried out a series of targeted abductions of young men, seizing more than 50 in just one week.
In Hakha City, one of the few areas in Chin State still under its control, the junta has intensified abductions targeting young men since early August, with at least two mass abductions reported in the past week, a resident said.
“The mass abduction on August 10 was the second time it happened. The first time, they took more than 30 young men. Soldiers waited at intersections for young men coming back from church and arrested them. Local elders and church leaders tried to negotiate their release, but the junta wouldn’t agree,” he told Khonumthung News.
The first mass abduction happened on the afternoon of August 3. That day, 40 young men returning from the Hakha Baptist Church were seized by the junta at a tea shop on the Hakha–Gangaw Road. Only 8 were released, and the remaining 32 are still being held.
“The soldiers didn’t go after girls, they mainly took boys. The boys’ motorbikes were left behind, and later that night, the soldiers came and took them away. The pastors tried to negotiate, but they couldn’t do anything either. Everyone was furious,” the aforementioned Hakha resident said.
After rumors spread that Chin resistance forces had captured junta-appointed civilian officials in Hakha City, the junta started abducting young residents.
On August 7, the junta tightened security in Hakha City after resistance forces ambushed a junta vehicle there, killing a police officer.