A defected soldier from Light Infantry Battalion 94, Nai Lin Htun, has revealed the brutal treatment of lower-ranking soldiers by military officers in the junta’s Aung Zeya column currently conducting offensive operations in Myawaddy Township, Karen State. According to his disclosure, military officers are starving their subordinates and forcing them to fight to death. In a video interview released by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) on March 1, Private Nai Lin Htun detailed the conditions they faced under military leadership.
According to Nai Lin Htun’s testimony, there exists severe discrimination between officers and lower-ranking soldiers within the Aung Zeya column, with notable disparities in food allocation among sergeants, corporals, lance corporals, and private soldiers. While officers enjoy quality meals, lower-ranking soldiers are served inferior food and often left hungry. He described instances where officers would eat well while deliberately keeping their subordinates starving, and any attempts by soldiers to cook their own meals would result in physical punishment and threats.
The majority of remaining soldiers in the Aung Zeya column are reportedly demoralized and have lost their will to fight. Many wish to surrender and defect but are prevented by threats from superior officers. Nai Lin Htun revealed that during battles, frontline soldiers are forbidden from retreating and are forced to fight to death. The military leadership has also been spreading false propaganda, claiming that revolutionary forces would kill any soldiers who surrender, to prevent defections. He emphasized how officers remain safely behind while sending inexperienced recruits to the front lines after minimal training.
Nai Lin Htun has declared his intention to fight against the terrorist military council and strongly urges current soldiers suffering under military oppression to stop serving as military personnel and join revolutionary forces as soon as possible. He particularly criticized the practice of sending young, inexperienced recruits to the front lines after only a few days of training, and the forced conscription of innocent civilians as porters. He advised potential recruits against joining the military, highlighting how new soldiers are deliberately starved and sent to the front lines while officers remain safely in the rear, treating lower-ranking soldiers as expendable in their operations.
