AIZAWL: Two teenage boys from Mizoram have returned home with their heads tonsured and cigarette burns on their bodies after being held captive and tortured by militants in Myanmar’s Chin state for nearly a week, an Assam Rifles officer reported on Sunday.
The boys, aged 16 and 15, were reportedly abducted by the Hualngoram unit of the Chin Defence Force (CDF), one of several militant organizations opposing Myanmar’s military junta. The abduction occurred on September 1 at Rih Dil Lake, a popular tourist destination near the Indian border, the officer said.
According to the officer, a group of five boys from Zokhawthar village in Mizoram had traveled to Rih Dil Lake on motorcycles. Upon arrival, they were intercepted by CDF militants, who assaulted them due to a prior altercation with other boys from Zokhawthar. While three of the boys managed to escape and return to India, the two were captured and held by the CDF.
The detained boys were initially kept in Rih Dil area for two days before being transferred to Liando camp in Seik village on September 3, where they endured severe torture. The militants reportedly tonsured their heads, inflicted cigarette burns on their bodies, and extracted the front teeth of one of the boys.
The boys were released by the CDF on the evening of September 6. The motive behind the abduction and torture is believed to be an attempt by the CDF to assert their authority and influence in the border area, and to intimidate local village council leaders and other figures.
The CDF, under the protection of the Chin National Army (CNA), is known for collecting taxes on goods transported between India and Myanmar.
The incident has heightened tensions in Zokhawthar, with locals demanding the immediate release of the kidnapped boys and reminding the militants of the hospitality Mizos extended to Chin refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar.
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