TNLA arrest over 40 cellphone users in Hsipaw
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Eain (NP News) - Feb 9
TNLA troops arrested at least 40 cellphone users who are Hsipaw residents in Sanphate Village in Hsipaw Township, Shan State, according to a local media based in Shan State.
In the first week of February, TNLA soldiers arrested more than 40 locals of all ages in the village, along with their phones, from their homes and along the main road in Hsipaw Township, which is controlled by the Ta’ang (Palaung) National Liberation Army (TNLA), for allegedly using the phone despite the ban, according to the report.
There are phone lines available in some areas of Hsipaw Township and on the other side of the Hsipaw Bridge, in the MNDAA-controlled area and thus, locals went there to talk on the phone for their communications. They were arrested and interrogated by the TNLA on their way back. In addition, the arrested residents of Sanphate village are being held in unknown locations and have not been released currently.
Similarly, in villages in Hsipaw Township, residents say that the TNLA is forcibly recruiting soldiers, mainly from the Ta'ang (Palaung) ethnic people, and is also abducting parents as replacements for their children who were listed for recruiting soldiers.
In the third week of January 2024, TNLA arrested 16 civilians, including four women, from the villages of Pinpaw, Longkyang, Kyaung Kone, and Naung Pit in Kyaukme Township, claiming that they were cutting down teak trees, and detained them to the Nawnghkio police station, according to residents.