Four new military recruits from the No. 12 Advanced Military Training School in Palaw, Tanintharyi Region, have defected without weapons, according to an official from PDF Myeik District Battalion 1. The incident, which occurred on June 18, involved trainees from Batch 11 who had been forcibly recruited by the military council. Among the defectors, two were locals from the Tanintharyi region who were arrested by recruitment forces when they returned to their homes. The other two were forcibly recruited after being deported from Thailand.
Similarly, four new military recruits from the Thaton Military Training School in Mon State have also defected without weapons, as confirmed by an official from the Black Panther Column. This incident occurred on June 22, where the recruits had been forced into porter service and had made multiple attempts to escape before successfully making contact with the Black Panther Column and defecting. For security reasons, the officials could not disclose the townships of origin for these defectors. The defectors had been trying multiple times to escape from under the military council’s control before finally succeeding in establishing contact with resistance forces.
In Sagaing Region’s Khin-U Township, two Pyu Saw Htee members also defected, bringing with them one firearm and ammunition. During this defection on June 22, they brought an M2 carbine, two ammunition magazines, 131 carbine rounds, five G3 rounds, two mobile phones, one power bank, and one laptop. Resistance forces have been encouraging young people who wish to escape from the military council’s oppression to contact revolutionary forces and defect. The PDF units have emphasized their commitment to providing the best possible assistance to those who have been forcibly recruited, while continuing to urge youth to rise against the military council’s unjust oppression and join the revolution.
