The Burmese Military Affairs Security Unit (MAS) forced a 13-year-old local boy to spy on the movements of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) at the front lines in Kachin State, the victim’s parents said.
The MAS unit used the boy to observe and take pictures of the activities of KIA Battalion 10, based at Chipwi and under command of Brigade 1, in eastern Kachin State, the parents said.
On July 26, the Burmese Army gave him the camera and forced the boy to take pictures of the position of the bridge between the villages of Chang Zaw and Damu.
The boy was injured by a warning shot fired by KIA soldiers at 8 a.m. that morning, when he tried to enter the area and get the picture. His parents took him to the Chipwi hospital, a villager said.
“We are really angry because they (MAS) did not rescue the boy or take responsibility for his treatment or weather he was afraid, seriously injured or dead,” said a resident from Chipwi.
“MAS (Sa-Ya-Pha) agents were afraid to obtain the information themselves, so they forced a civilian to do it,” said the resident.
A clash took place on July 25 between the KIA’s Battalion 10 and the Burmese Army’s Light Infantry Battalion no. 121, based in Nga Oo, near Chipwi.
