On November 24, 2023, during the 1027 operation, Sai Nyunt, an executive member of the Tai Students’ Union went missing after passing through an MNDAA army outpost near Pasinkyaw village. He was returning home from the conflict area, walking with other people who were fleeing the war. It is understood that he was forcibly recruited by the MNDAA (Kokang Army).
Sai Nyunt is a young activist with the Tai Students’ Union, involved in local community activities and mobilization. Because of communications and Internet outages because of the conflict, it was only in the second week of January 2024, that we learned of the forcible recruitment of Sai Nyunt and other Shan youth, through a young man who had been arrested with Sai Nyunt and later escaped.
As soon as the Tai Student Union heard that Sai Nyunt had been arrested, we contacted relevant organizations and asked for help to release him. To date we have not received any response.
It is critical that, if we are to defeat the common enemy and ensure the long term unity of the ethnic groups for Myanmar to progress peacefully, that the MNDAA release all those recruited forcibly.
We strongly condemn the forced recruitment of Sai Nyunt and the other Shan youth and call on their immediate release.
Tai Students’ Union