Undermining The Peace Process: Burmese Army atrocities against civilians in Putao, northern Kachin State

Despite ongoing peace negotiations with the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), in early September
2013 Burmese government troops raided the village of Nhka Ga, near Putao in northern Kachin State, accusing the villagers of supporting the KIA. They detained and tortured ten villagers, shot three men to death, and
raped the wife of one of the detainees. The troops have since been encamped in the village, restricting all civilian movement.
This military operation is linked to the securing of control over northern Kachin State’s rich timber and mineral resources. Nhka Ga village lies in a strategic location on a road being built from the China border to large
concession areas recently granted to billionaire crony Tay Za.
These atrocities and exploitation belie the Burmese government’s claims to be establishing peace in the ethnic
states.

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