A/HRC/39/CRP.2 night at the entrance of the village at the area where villagers keep their cows. I was beaten until I could not walk anymore”. Members of the TNLA told the victim, “You betrayed the Ta’ang people by guiding Tatmadaw soldiers”. 795 365. In another reported case, the TNLA arrested the father of a 29-year old man who was absent when the TNLA arrived to recruit him in October 2017 in Namkham Township, Shan State. The father was subsequently arrested and detained by the TNLA until the man returned and was recruited. He said, “The TNLA often do this. They arrest parents in order to force the sons to join the TNLA. They release the parents only when the sons are recruited”. 796 366. The KIA also abducted civilians to coerce them in participating in military operations.797 For example, in a verified incident that occurred in February 2017, a 12-year old girl was abducted by the KIA in Kutkai Township, Shan State, and held hostage by the group because her older brothers had refused to be recruited. During her captivity, the girl received military training.798 367. The Mission also received unverified reports of SSA-S and TNLA abducting civilians in the course of their military incursions against each other.799 The Mission was not able to determine if the civilians were released following the abductions. For example, it was reported that SSA-S abducted 11 Ta’ang villagers from a village in Kyautme Township, Shan State, on 17 January 2016.800 Further, on 17 September 2017, it was reported that the SSA-S abducted a monk and his brother in Thibaw Township, Shan State. They were allegedly released 10 days after their abduction. 801 368. The Mission verified an incident involving the SSA-S arbitrarily depriving the president and secretary of a local branch of the Ta’ang National Party of his liberty on 20 June 2015 in Mongkaung Township, Shan State.802 The victim had erected a billboard for the Ta’ang National Party in his village and had refused to take it down at the request of the SSAS. As a result, SSA-S armed men detained the victim with another member of the party under a tree for two days. They were beaten on the head and body with rifle butts. Their hands and legs were tied for approximately 24 hours. The victim was beaten by an SSA-S leader who told him, “if you do not become an SSA-S soldier then you can die here”. The SSA-S leader also pointed a gun at his temple and pulled the trigger in a mock execution. Two days later, the victims were moved to the forest and placed under a plastic covering with no walls, and remained detained there for 33 days. The victim was handcuffed, making sleeping difficult. Civil society organizations intervened and eventually secured the victims’ release. The SSAS initially denied having the detainees in their custody but they eventually confirmed their location and released the victims on the condition that they do not participate in any political party or recruitment for the SSA-S. Members of the armed group also threatened to confiscate and destroy the property of the victims should they be politically active in the future. 803 369. Another 16-year old girl told the Mission that she was forcibly recruited by the SSAS in July 2011 in Mongkaung Township, Shan State. The child was ill-treated and wanted to return home to care for her sick mother, she said: I was beaten with a stick sometimes. The trainees were often punished by the SSA-S members. If the soldiers did not hit us hard enough, an officer would come and hit us harder. We were punished for serious offences such as wanting to leave the training. The conditions in which we lived at the training camp were very hard. Once a month 795 796 797 798 799 800 801 802 803 90 PI-095. PI-112. K-061, K-064. K-061. K-137, K-144. K-137. K-137. K-137, PI-114, V-304. PI-114.