Langjaw Gam Seng, 35, and Dumdaw Nawng Lat, 65, were summoned to an army base in Shan state in northeastern Myanmar on Dec 24, according to Human Rights Watch and Fortify Rights.
In this Friday, Oct. 14, 2016 photo, Myanmar police officers patrol along the border fence between Myanmar and Bangladesh in Maungdaw, Rakhine State, Myanmar. Just five months after her party took power, Myanmar's Nobel Peace Prize-winning leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is facing international pressure over recent reports that soldiers have been killing, raping and burning homes of the country's long-persecuted Rohingya Muslims. The U.S. State Department joined activist and aid groups in raising concerns about new reports of rape and murder, while satellite imagery released Monday, Oct. 31, by Human Rights Watch shows that at least three villages in the western state of Rakhine have been burned. Myanmar government officials deny the reports of attacks, and presidential spokesman Zaw Htay said Monday that United Nations representatives should visit "and see the actual situation in that region." (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)
Myanmar authorities have announced the army detained two Kachin Baptist pastors whose disappearance raised concerns for their safety among human rights groups. The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported Friday that the office of Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s leader, said that the two men were suspected of recruiting and spying for Kachin ethnic rebels, as well as spreading false information on their behalf.
Watch what else is making news:
You have exhausted your monthly limit of free stories.
Read more stories for free with an Express account.
The two had disappeared last month after showing journalists a Catholic church allegedly damaged in airstrikes by Myanmar government forces. A government spokesman had previously said that the military denied detaining the two men.The Defense Ministry said Thursday it detained the men secretly for security reasons and in accordance with the law.
Langjaw Gam Seng, 35, and Dumdaw Nawng Lat, 65, were summoned to an army base in Shan state in northeastern Myanmar on Dec 24, according to Human Rights Watch and Fortify Rights. The area has been the scene of heavy fighting between the military and a coalition of Kachin and three other ethnic guerrilla groups. Myanmar’s army has often been accused of human rights abuses in decades long battles with ethnic rebels seeking greater autonomy.
