The junta arrested 40 young men in Hakha City, the capital of Chin State, and only eight have been released, with the rest still in detention.

On August 3, the junta arrested young men at a tea shop along the Hakha-Gangaw Highway, as well as those returning from Sunday church services, a total of 40 individuals.

“We don’t know why the junta made these arrests. All of those taken were civilians with no ties to the armed resistance. Targeting innocent people like this is completely unacceptable. Arresting young people who were just coming back from church is also a clear violation of religious freedom. Some people believe the junta may have abducted them for conscription, but we can’t say that for certain. As far as we know, there haven’t been any previous cases of conscription-related abductions in Hakha, so right now, we really don’t know what the junta’s intentions are,” said the chairman of the Chinland Defence Force – Hakha (CDF-Hakha).

Khonumthung News has made every effort to gather information about those arrested by the junta and has so far identified seven students, two Bible students, one young person recently discharged from the hospital, and seven married individuals with children. Of these, seven students and the young man recently discharged from the hospital have been released, while the remaining 32 men are still being held by the junta as of August 6.

Meanwhile, there have been recent incidents in which resistance forces arrested several junta-appointed officials in junta-controlled Hakha City. According to Hakha residents, those detained include employees from the border affairs and immigration departments.

When asked about the incidents by Khonumthung News, the chairman of CDF-Hakha denied having any knowledge of it. However, the general secretary of CDF-Hakha told some media agencies that several junta officials, including the director of Chin State’s construction department, had been detained, and that the action was part of countermeasures against the upcoming election the junta is preparing to hold.

There are reports that the son of a minister in the Chin State government is among those detained by resistance forces, but Khonumthung News is still working to verify this information.

Locals have suggested that the junta’s sudden abduction of young people in Hakha City may be a retaliatory response to the arrest of its employees by Chin resistance forces.

On August 3, a military and police convoy passing through Pyitawthar Ward in Hakha City was ambushed by CDF-Hakha forces.

“Around 8:00 pm, our forces attacked the vehicles coming back from Thantlang Town. It wasn’t a long fight, more like a quick ambush. We don’t know if there were any casualties from that incident,” CDF-Hakha chairman said.

That same night, an artillery shell fired by the junta, likely in retaliation for the ambush, landed in Myohaung (Old Town) Ward of Hakha City, hitting a house and wounding three residents.

The injured include a Christian pastor, a 12-year-old girl, and a 15-year-old boy, all of whom are still undergoing medical treatment.