A villager was beaten after being accused of working for a Shan armed group, SHRF says.

The authorities should take action against government soldiers who beat villagers in Mong Peng Township in Eastern Shan State this month, the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) said.

SHRF reported last week that troops from Light Infantry Battalion 579 beat 32-year-old Ja Paul of Mong Leng village on July 6. They reportedly accused him of buying rice for soldiers from Shan ethnic armed organizations.

“As usual, the Burmese soldiers accused villagers of working for the Shan army. The soldiers interrogated and beat villagers. They should not do this,” Sai Hor Hseng, an SHRF spokesperson, told SHAN.

He added that locals have also said that Burma Army soldiers harvested their crops and taken their livestock without permission.

Photo by – SHRF

In their statement, SHRF said that the authorities in Burma and Shan State should investigate these reports and see to it that the soldiers involved held accountable.

The incidents occurred west of the city of Kengtung, where the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and the Burma Army are among the armed groups active. The RCSS signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with the Burmese military and government in 2015, but fighting has persisted throughout the peace process.

“The Shan army already signed a ceasefire agreement. [The Burma Army] should not beat villagers. They should not take people’s property. They should not make trouble for locals,” Sai Hor Hseng said.