The bodies of ten people murdered by the Burma Army (BA), including a minor, were found in Matupi Township after they were abducted last week and used as human shields during fierce fighting with civilian resistance groups.

Ko Nway Oo Lin, spokesperson for the Chinland Defence Force (CDF) in Matupi, told Khonumthung News that a 13-year-old boy was among the deceased. An eleventh person, who was abducted around the same time as the others and forced to walk in front of the soldiers on the Matupi-Hakha road between Kee Lun and Lawn Law villages on 6-7 January, is still missing. The villages are about 20 miles from Matupi town.

The CDF has been fighting the BA in Matupi and the other townships in Chin State since it took up arms in May last year to defend protesters who were subjected to violence and arrested for their peaceful demonstrations against the dictatorship.