Mizzima News

New Delhi - A 15 year-old ethnic Kachin school girl in Northern Burma was found raped and murdered three days after she disappeared on July 27, an ethnic Kachin News Group said.

The teenage girl, Nhkum Hkawn Din, of Nam Sai village in Bamaw District in southern Kachin state did not return home on July 27 after she was sent to give food to her brother, who was working in the paddy field, the News Agency said.

After three days of searching, on July 30 her body was found naked near an army checkpoint.

Naw Din, editor of the KNG, citing local sources said the girl was seen being followed by soldiers on her way to her brother in the paddy field.

"Locals saw Corporal Aye Thein and two other soldiers following her when she was on her way to the paddy field," Naw Din said.

The Burma Campaign UK, a group advocating for human rights and democracy in Burma, said the girl's naked body was found along with her clothes, slippers, and the basket that she carried on the fateful day.

Nang Seng, Campaign Officer at the BCUK told Mizzima, "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."

According to the BCUK, Nhkum Hkawn Din's skull was smashed, her eyes were gouged out, her throat was slit, she had stab wounds on her right rib cage, and her face was mutilated. She had been stabbed in the abdomen after she was raped. She was further violated with knives.

"This is a horrific attack and should remind governments and the United Nations of the true nature of this regime," Nang Seng said in a statement released on Friday.

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

Nang Seng told Mizzima that despite complaints lodged by the parents of the teenage girl, the authorities until today have failed to take action against the perpetrators of the horrific crime.

"Her parents have already complained at the police station but the local police told them that there is not enough evidence to prove the crime," Nang Seng said.

While there is no eyewitness to the rape and mutilation of the teenage girl by Burmese Army soldiers, BCUK accused the soldiers of being the perpetrators.

Meanwhile, another advocacy group, the Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) in a statement released on Friday condemned the brutal act and called on the international community to exert more pressure on the Burmese regime.

"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," Alexa Papadouris, Advocacy Director at CSW, said

In accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 1820, which describes rape and sexual violence as a crime against humanity on June 19, 2008, both CSW and BCUK called on the International Criminal Court to charge the Burmese regime with crime against humanity.

"We believe that the Generals ruling Burma should be brought to the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity," said Papadouris.