The Karen National Union (KNU) Mergui-Tavoy District has announced that seven new military recruits, who were arrested in Thailand and forcibly conscripted by the terrorist military after being deported back to Myanmar, have defected to join the resistance forces. These individuals were initially working in Thailand when they were arrested by Thai authorities. Upon their deportation to Myanmar, they were intercepted by the military council forces who forcibly recruited them and sent them to a military training facility.
On September 17, these seven new recruits escaped from the terrorist military’s No. 12 Regional Central Training School in Palaw and surrendered without weapons to the Karen National Defense Organization (KNDO) Battalion 7, Company 5, under the command of Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 4. Their decision to defect came after experiencing the military’s oppressive practices firsthand, leading them to choose to align with the revolutionary forces instead of serving in the military council’s army.
In their official statement, the KNU Mergui-Tavoy District highlighted that the terrorist military continues to engage in forced recruitment and mandatory military training of civilians. The statement encouraged other soldiers who have been forcibly conscripted to seek ways to defect to nearby revolutionary forces whenever possible. The announcement emphasized the importance of military personnel taking a stand with the people, given the military council’s ongoing brutal acts of violence and killings against civilians. The KNU stressed that the military council’s continued oppression of its own people makes it crucial for those within the military to consider their position and choose to stand with the public rather than participate in the military’s campaign of violence.
