A junta-aligned militia in Kachin State’s Hpakant Township has refused to return the bodies of four civilians its fighters killed, despite repeated appeals from grieving families.

Members of the Warazut militia—also known as the Min Zay Thant militia, after its leader—abducted and executed the four residents of Nawngmyi Village on August 9.

“The militia arrested the four men on their way to local mining sites, claiming they were suspicious,” a Nawngmyi resident told KNG. “When village elders inquired about their whereabouts, militia leaders said fighting had broken out at the time and that the men died after an interrogation went too far. The elders asked them to at least hand over the bodies, but the militia refused.”

The killings followed an August 8 morning drone strike by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) targeting a militia training depot inside a Warazut stronghold village. Residents said the militia carried out the execution-style killings of the four villagers in retaliation for the attack.

The victims were identified as Ko Lamai Gwang Mai, Ko Dawng Lwan, Ko Htwe San Aung, and Ko Sut Aung. Ko Htwe San Aung was just 16 years old; he had recently dropped out of school and was traveling to the mining sites in search of work when he was detained and killed, locals said.

“The KIA targeted the militia depot, and while we heard only a few were killed, many were injured,” another Nawngmyi resident explained. “In retaliation, the militia members arrested and killed the four villagers under the pretext that they were suspicious.”

The Warazut militia acknowledged the KIA attack in a Telegram statement but claimed only two members were wounded, denying any fatalities.

The militia group operates primarily along the strategic Lido Highway, expanding its presence significantly along the Danai-Hpakant stretch since the 2021 military coup. It has faced repeated accusations of arbitrarily detaining and executing civilians suspected of ties to the KIA.

Clashes between the KIA and the Warazut militia have intensified since late 2024 around the gold-rich Sharduzut area. The militia regularly conducts military operations to prevent the KIA from establishing positions in villages across the Warazut Village Tract—including Warazut, Sharduzut, Aungyar, Sanpya, and Bangkauk—and surrounding settlements.

Meanwhile, village elders are attempting to secure the victims' bodies through negotiations mediated by the Kachin Peace-Talk Creation Group (PCG).