Five villagers detained by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) for protesting gold mining near Mansei Village in Lashio Township, northern Shan State, have been released.

The five were released on February 19, about a week after talks between officials from the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP) and the MNDAA. The MNDAA invited Nampawng Village Tract Administration officials from Lashio Township to Theinni (Hsenwi) Town to hand over the five villagers.

“The MNDAA has released five villagers from Mansei—they were arrested for protesting against gold mining. Village elders brought them back home,” said a Lashio resident familiar with the situation.

On February 13, MNDAA officials visited the SSPP headquarters to celebrate the Chinese New Year, during which they also discussed the villagers’ release.

On February 1, the MNDAA arrested 36 villagers from Mansei who had protested against gold mining permitted by the group and took them to Theinni Town. The detainees were beaten and interrogated as the MNDAA tried to identify the protest leaders.

On February 2, the MNDAA released 27 of the protesters after officials from the Nampawng Village Tract, which includes Mansei Village, pledged on their behalf, while nine remained in detention. Another four were released on February 9.

On February 14, eleven Shan youth organizations issued a statement demanding the immediate release of the five Mansei villagers still held by the MNDAA, citing concerns for their safety and health. The statement also condemned the physical beatings of the detainees as completely unacceptable.