Around 30 people, including young children, were abducted after members of a military junta-aligned militia raided a church compound run by the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) in Sarhmaw village, located in Kachin State's Mogaung Township.

The raid took place at approximately 5:00 p.m. on July 8, when around 30 militia members arrived at the church in two vehicles and rounded up civilians inside the compound, according to a resident.

“They assaulted the church's construction supervisor by striking him on the head, and they reportedly held other people at gunpoint.

They even forcibly detained passersby who were riding bicycles past the church.

Everyone was terrified because of their violent actions,” the resident told KNG on the condition of anonymity due to safety concerns.

Those abducted reportedly included the church pastor, the construction supervisor, two children aged 5 and 7, six women who had been participating in a fasting and prayer gathering, young students who had been playing sepak takraw inside the church compound, and several masons working on-site.

The motive behind the mass abduction remains unclear, and the current whereabouts of the detainees have not yet been confirmed.

Officials from the Sarhmaw branch of the KBC have reported the incident to the organization's headquarters. Local community members and religious leaders are urgently calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all those abducted.

Sarhmaw village, situated in Myanmar's conflict-torn northern region, has previously been targeted by mass detentions. On March 31, 2024, troops from the junta's Infantry Battalion 105 raided a home preparing for a wedding ceremony and detained around 60 people, including a pastor.

Those detainees were eventually released on April 2, 2024, following mediation efforts by the Kachin Peace-talk Creation Group (PCG), a local peace brokerage body.