A new military recruit named Ko Yan Naing Linn, who was sold to the terrorist military by a broker who had promised to send him to Bangkok, Thailand, has defected to Battalion 2 in Dawei District with a firearm. Ko Yan Naing Linn and five of his friends had contacted a broker named Lin Htet from Paung Township to arrange transport to Thailand, initially paying 700,000 kyats each. The broker later demanded an additional one million kyats from each person, bringing the total payment to 1.7 million kyats per person.
The broker took Ko Yan Naing Linn and his friends to a rubber plantation in Mudon Township for an overnight stay. The next morning, soldiers dressed in civilian clothes arrested them and sent them to a military recruitment center. Ko Yan Naing Linn was then sent to Military Training School No. 7 in Thaungdwin Gyi Township, Magway Region, for training. After completing his training, he was transferred to Battalion 405 in Tharawaddy Township and participated in military operations.
During military operations, the terrorist army would raid villages, firing weapons and burning civilian homes and property. When new recruits objected to these brutal acts, the soldiers would respond with verbal abuse and physical violence. Unable to accept the military’s violence against civilians, Ko Yan Naing Linn escaped from the military column and defected to Battalion 2 in Dawei District on August 20, bringing a firearm with him. His defection represents another example of how the military council continues to deceive and forcibly recruit civilians, leading many to eventually escape and join resistance forces when confronted with the reality of the military’s brutal actions against their own people.
