Locals have discovered the bodies of two ethnic Chin women from Magway region’s Ngape township who went missing on Sunday. They were identified as 14-year-old Mai Hnoun Par Hla and 21-year-old Mai Shwesin Ye, both members of the Asho tribe from Bone Baw village, a resident – who did not want to be named for safety reasons – told RFA.
“Two girls disappeared around 8 p.m. that night,” the local said. “They were returning from Goke Gyi village to Bone Baw village. They were found near Myay Lat village at around 5 p.m. on October 9.”
Locals say both women were raped and murdered but RFA has not been able to confirm this independently. Their bodies have now been returned to their families.
There are 11 Asho Chin villages on the mountain where Ngape township is based, on the Rakhine mountain range. The villages lie close to each other on the highway which runs from Mandalay to Sittwe city in Rakhine State.
There is a police station in Goke Gyi village, and the military junta’s 88th division is often stationed in Myay Lat village. The 14th division of Ngape township and junta forces from Pa Dan village are also active in the area, along with three artillery units from nearby villages.
The ousted National Unity Government’s Ministry of Women, Youths and Children Affairs told RFA in March that around 150 women and 130 children had been killed across the country since the Feb. 1, 2021 military coup.
Women’s League of Burma officials told RFA the same month that more than 100 women had been killed, more than 1,500 arrested and there had been at least 10 cases of sexual violence against women across Myanmar since the coup.