In Nammun Town, located in the Indawgyi Lake area of Mohnyin Township in Kachin State, militia groups have been arresting young people passing through the town in recent months, according to locals.
“Militia groups in the town frequently arrest and tie up young people passing through. They select some of the well-built youths and take them away to be used as porters”, a woman residing in Mamonkaing Village said.
Detained youths are forced to serve the militiamen and attempts by family members to retrieve them are often rejected.
In Nammun, one junta checkpoint and two militia group checkpoints have been established, where strict checks of national identification cards (NRC) and other documents carried by passers-by are conducted.
Due to security concerns, local youths from Mongnawng no longer dare to travel to Nammun as they used to. They only go there for very important and unavoidable reasons.
Recently, militiamen arrested a villager from Mongnawng and a gold miner.
There are also reports of individuals being secretly detained without any information being made public, and they have yet to be released.
Moreover, local drivers have reported that the checkpoints in the town charge a minimum of 5000 MMK toll per truck.
Young people of Indawgyi are also concerned about the potential for being conscripted by both the militia and the regional resistance group, the Kachin People's Defense Force (KPDF).
