Two soldiers from the military council’s Infantry Battalion 224 have defected to the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) with their weapons during a battle near Theinkone village in Tanintharyi Township, Tanintharyi Region. The Battalion Commander of KNU Brigade 4 Battalion 11 Headquarters confirmed that a corporal and a private soldier surrendered to the KNLA Battalion 11’s Cobra Special Force during fighting near Theinkone village along the Mawtaung border trade route on May 9. The defecting soldiers brought with them two MA-1 rifles, nine ammunition magazines, and 328 rounds of ammunition, for which they will receive special recognition rewards.
According to the statements from the defectors, there are many more soldiers within the military council forces who wish to escape. They revealed that the military council is forcing new recruits into what amounts to suicide missions, neither allowing them to advance nor retreat. The Battalion Commander of KNU Brigade 4 Battalion 11 Headquarters provided additional insight into the conditions within military council forces, explaining that soldiers are enduring severe mistreatment, facing difficulties with basic necessities, and being used as expendable forces in military operations. He assessed that these conditions are likely to lead to more defections in the coming period.
The situation reflects the growing instability within the military council’s forces in the Tanintharyi region, where ongoing clashes between the military council troops and local resistance forces continue to result in increasing casualties and losses for the military council. The defection of these two soldiers with their complete weapons and ammunition demonstrates the deteriorating morale and conditions within the military council’s ranks. Resistance forces have confirmed that the military council is experiencing mounting losses in the region, while their troops face increasingly difficult circumstances and limited options for either advancement or retreat.
