The junta has abducted an underage internally displaced person (IDP) who fled conflict in Hpakant Township, Kachin State, and has yet to release him.

In Hpakant Township, famously known as the land of jade, a 16-year-old boy taking refuge in Maw Wankalay Village was arrested on February 22. He was riding a motorbike with a friend to Hpakant Town when soldiers stopped and detained them near Tatmakone Police Station.

The boy’s friend was released shortly after, but the 16-year-old Grade 9 student remains in detention, a source close to the family told MNJ.

“They were captured by soldiers near Tatmakone. His friend was released, but they took him away. We don’t know why they abducted him,” he said.

The arrested boy, Maung Madein Nawn Sai (also known as La Htaw Naw Sai), has been missing for five days, and his whereabouts remain unknown, leaving his family deeply worried. He comes from a family displaced from Mawwan Ward in Hpakant Town and is currently sheltering in Maw Wankalay, and his mother is extremely anxious for him, another source said.

“His mother is deeply worried, not knowing who to turn to for help or where to report her son’s disappearance,” the source told MNJ.

Military tensions between the junta and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) are escalating in Hpakant Township, with both sides increasing targeted checks on civilians.

Since January 30, the junta has been fighting the KIA and its ally, the Kachin People’s Defence Force (KPDF), in the Mashikatong and Yumar areas near Hsengtaung Village in Hpakant Township.