At least 36 villagers were arrested by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), also known as the Kokang Army, after protesting against gold mining on their farmland in Man Jay village tract, Nam Pong area, Lashio Township, Northern Shan State. While 27 have since been released, nine remain in custody amid reports of beatings and coercive interrogation.

The confrontation began on the morning of February 1, when residents gathered to oppose the MNDAA’s seizure of agricultural land for gold mining operations. Villagers say the mining has been carried out since mid-January without consultation, compensation, or consent.

That evening, MNDAA troops detained all 36 protesters and transported them toward Hsenwi. According to a Nam Pong resident, detainees were beaten during questioning aimed at identifying protest organizers.

“Thirty-six villagers who joined the protest were taken toward Hsenwi by the Kokang Army. Yesterday, the village chair and elders went to negotiate. Twenty-seven were released, but nine are still being held. We have heard they are being beaten and pressured to reveal who led the protest,” the resident told SHAN.

On February 2, MNDAA forces sealed off Man Jay village between 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., blocking all entry and exit routes while conducting house-to-house searches for two young protest leaders who had evaded arrest.

Residents say the crackdown has left the community in fear—not only for the nine detainees, but also for anyone who speaks out against land seizures.

The incident in Man Jay follows similar actions in nearby MNDAA-controlled areas. In January, farmland in Mong Lee village tract in Hsenwi Township was reportedly seized for Chinese investors to establish tissue-culture banana plantations. When villagers protested on January 29 as bulldozers began clearing land, the MNDAA rejected their complaints, saying it held the same authority to appropriate land as previous governments.

Separately, on January 29, MNDAA soldiers at a checkpoint near Pan Myaing village in Hsipaw Township allegedly detained and beat a 63-year-old man, Lung Pan, during an interrogation. He died the following morning from his injuries, an incident that has drawn condemnation from local civil society groups.

Residents note that although the MNDAA and allied forces fought the military junta during Operation 1027, their conduct since the ceasefire has increasingly involved aggressive resource extraction, land confiscation, and heavy-handed control over civilian communities.

Villagers warn that unregulated mining and agribusiness projects are already damaging water sources, farmland, and the local environment, while dissent is suppressed through arrests and intimidation.

Families in Man Jay say they are waiting anxiously for news of the nine people still in MNDAA custody, fearing further abuse as security tightens across the area.