The military refused to return the bodies of four Kuki youths after soldiers killed them in Tamu Township, last Saturday, July 10. Soldiers told their families they buried them.

Soldiers shot at six youths on a bridge connecting Min Tha and Kyun Pin Tha villages at 10 pm, instantly killing two and wounding three others. One boy shot in his calf managed to escape.

The military detained three of the other wounded youths and took them to their military camp in Min Tha village.

Soldiers freed one of the youth on Monday, informing the families of the others they were dead. They returned two motorcycles the youths from Nawng Ket village were riding when the Army attacked them.

“When we asked for their bodies, the soldiers told us they buried them, but they didn't tell us where,” a man from Nawng Ket told Khonumthung News.

The deceased are Ngan Cin Pau, Mang Goe, Dokho Let, and Pau Gin Mang. Sup Min Lung and Maung Thar Pu survived the ordeal.

The night before the shootings, soldiers arrested four other Kuki youths in Kyun Pin Tha and prevented their families from visiting them.

“Before when soldiers arrested civilians they transferred them to the police station. I don't know if the military sent these youths to the station because no one has been able to see them,” a source familiar with the incident told Khonumthung News.

The detainees are Hin Lin Mang, Ram Lin Mong, Sung Min Thang and Lal Lin San.