Eyewitnesses report a rise in daytime group robberies in Myitkyina Township, Kachin State.

In late December 2024, a young woman riding a motorbike in Myitkyina’s Kyatpaungchan ward, beyond the golf course, was robbed by a group of about seven men on a public road in broad daylight. 

A local craftsman who witnessed the incident described it: “They blocked the road and robbed her on the spot. They likely had knives. The girl was terrified and left crying. With such crowds, we didn’t dare intervene. In many neighborhoods, when homes are unoccupied, water pump machines and other valuables often go missing.”

On January 3, 2025, another incident occurred when a man traveling from Kyatpaungchan ward to a relative’s house in the Garmaingkaung ward was stopped at No.24 branch road by three men on a motorbike. They threatened him with a knife, stealing his motorbike and over 200,000 kyats in cash. 

A relative of the victim recounted: “It happened at night, around 8 PM. The motorbike was an electric one rented from someone else and had only been purchased two days earlier. We don’t know how to resolve this. That electric bike costs about 600,000 kyats.”

In 2023 and 2024, Kachin State saw multiple armed robberies in towns like Hpakant, Mohnyin, Waingmaw, and Bhamo. Hpakant alone recorded no fewer than five-armed gold shop robberies during this period.