According to investigations by Global Witness, resistance to illegal rare earth mining in Kachin Special Region 1 is met with threats of violence from local militia leaders, demonstrating how armed groups protect these lucrative operations. In February 2022, when community leaders wrote to the military's Northern Command asking for intervention to stop mining expansion into their villages, they did so despite explicit threats from militia leaders. At a meeting with village representatives, militia leader Galaw Ying Hkaw had warned: "You, village leaders, should solve this issue. Otherwise, I will have to start shooting and killing people from now on. Do not underestimate me. I am not a child. This is not child's play." A Kachin civil society representative explained the predicament faced by local communities: "No one wants to give up their ancestors' lands, but if they [resist] they can be killed." Despite these threats, some community leaders continue to speak out, recognising that if new mines are established, they risk losing everything: "If it happens to us, we will not be able to sell what we grow. It would be no different from killing us”.