Myanmar: Soldiers believed responsible for rape, torture and murder of schoolgirl

15-year-old Nhkum Hkawn Din, an ethnic Kachin of Nam Sai village Myanmar, was last seen as she was walking to the fields where her brother was working to deliver his lunch. Afterwards, she did not return home and her family alerted local police. 

After a three-day search her body was found naked near a military check point along with her personal possession. According to her family she had been beaten, raped, stabbed 7 times, her throat was cut, her eyes had been stabbed out with a knife and she had cuts on her “private areas”. The Burma Campaign UK said the girl’s skull was smashed and described her face as mutilated, 

Witnesses say they saw Corporal Aye Thein and two other soldiers following her in the field just before she disappeared. Local police have told the family that there is no evidence to charge the soldiers with the crime and at this point the military has not conducted an investigation into the matter. 

Nang Seng, Campaign Officer for The Burma Campaign said

“"This is one incident among thousands of cases and is the trademark of the Burmese Army's use of rape as weapon of war in Burma.”

In a later statement she added:

"This is a horrific attack and should remind governments and the United Nations of the true nature of this regime,"

and

"There is no justice or rule of law in Burma,"

The advocacy group, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, released a statement condemning the government and calling for more international pressure. Alexa Papadouris, Advocacy Director for the group said,

"This latest tragedy is another example of the grotesque barbarism of the military regime in Burma, and evidence that despite what the regime tells UN envoys, they continue to perpetrate crimes against humanity with impunity,"

Both organizations are calling on the International Criminal Court to bring charges of crime against humanity against the government of Myanmar.