Three members of the Pyu Saw Htee group from Kan Ni village in Myaing Township, Magway Region, have defected with their families and exposed the sexual violence being perpetrated by their leader against young women in the village. The defectors include two Pyu Saw Htee members in their thirties and one in their twenties, along with three children. They fled from Kan Ni Pyu village on May 7 and contacted the local defense force expressing their desire to defect.
According to an official from Battalion 15 in Pakokku District, among those who defected, two were individuals who had been forced to take up arms, while the third was the wife of a Pyu Saw Htee member. During interrogation, they revealed that the Pyu Saw Htee leader in Kan Ni village had been using weapons to threaten and sexually assault young women in the village, forcing them to become his minor wives. Some of these women are now pregnant. These sexual assaults have reportedly been occurring since the previous year.
Currently, the Kan Ni Pyu Saw Htee camp is experiencing food shortages due to a blockade by People’s Defense Force members. There have been frequent defections from the group due to the abuse and torture inflicted by the military council-affiliated Pyu Saw Htee members. This situation reflects the systematic human rights violations and patterns of violence within the military council’s affiliated forces. Of particular concern is the escalating sexual violence against women and young girls, which has reached an alarming level. The defectors’ testimonies provide crucial evidence of the ongoing atrocities committed under the military council’s authority, highlighting the urgent need for intervention and protection of civilian populations, especially vulnerable women and girls in conflict-affected areas.
