Shan, gunmen kidnap 50 civilians. Thousands flee fighting.
Yangon (AsiaNews) - A group of unidentified armed men has raided a village in Shan State in eastern Myanmar, seizing 50 men. It comes amid increasing violence in the area; human rights activists and groups point the finger at the government army, accusing the soldiers of "war crimes" against civilians in the region. The kidnapping took place in recent days - but the news only emerged yesterday - in some villages in the outskirts of Lashio, the most important and populous region for the ethnic minority.
Speaking to Radio Free Asia (RFA), a woman from the village Kaungkha, among those involved in the raid reported that the attack occurred overnight on November 26 and the inhabitants of the area have fled in panic. The witness added that, because of the confusion, it was not possible to determine the identity of the assailants.
In recent weeks, the area of the attack has been the scene of violent clashes between the Burmese army and Shan ethnic militias (Shan State Army-North, SSA-N). The group, an armed wing of the political movement Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP), is among the movements linked to ethnic militias who did not want to sign the agreement for the "national ceasefire" with the outgoing Burmese government.
The agreement was signed on October 15 but various ethnic groups rejected the document; the pacification of the areas inhabited by ethnic minorities (Shan, Kachin, etc) will be a major challenge that will face the new government that has emerged from the 8 November elections, which will bring Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) for the first time to power.
The violence in the central Shan State (including shootings and rapes) has sparked the flight of more than 10 thousand civilians. In conjunction with kidnappings, activist groups and movements close to the Shan minority gathered in Bangkok Thailand's capital, for an international meeting. In the context of the meeting the leaders accused the Tatmadaw - the Myanmar army - of "war crimes" and called on the international community to "break the silence" on the matter.
The pacification of the country is one of the priorities in the message launched by Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, archbishop of Yangon, in his message to the faithful in the aftermath of the vote. Addressing the faithful the prelate said he would "pray" for the new leaders, called to "heal the nation" battered by war and violence. "Extreme poverty, wars and displaced –warns the Cardinal - the rights denied to a large part of our population and decades of conflict in the ethnic areas" are "enormous challenges" that must be faced and overcome.
In a country of about 135 ethnic groups, peaceful coexistence has always been a struggle, especially with the central government, which is dominated by ethnic Burmese.
In the past, the ruling military junta used an iron fist against the groups least amenable to central control, like ethnic Kachin, who live along the border with China in the north, and more recently, ethnic Kokang in Shan state, where the outgoing president imposed a state of emergency.
.png)
12/12/2023 18:16
