Military sources from the Southwest Command have confirmed that the commander of Infantry Battalion 271 in Ayeyarwady Region’s Hiekyun Township has been arrested after refusing to conduct military operations, citing exhaustion among his troops. The incident occurred following a previous engagement near Setsatyo village in Hiekyun Township during August, where resistance forces ambushed Infantry Battalion 27, resulting in the deaths of their battalion commander, one captain, and four soldiers, forcing the entire column to retreat.
Following these casualties, Deputy Commander of Southwest Command Ye Lwin Aung ordered the Pathein-based Infantry Battalion 271 commander to conduct clearance operations in Hiekyun area. However, the battalion commander refused to deploy, stating that his subordinate soldiers were too exhausted to continue operations. This refusal led to a confrontation where Strategic Commander Colonel Lwin Htoo Maung and Colonel Zeyar Maung accused him of insubordination and verbally threatened him. The battalion commander responded to these threats, escalating the situation into a heated argument.
Subsequently, Deputy Commander Ye Lwin Aung personally led the arrest of the Infantry Battalion 271 commander, who is now being detained at Artillery Unit 344 in Hiekyun. Lieutenant Colonel Kyaw Win Htut, the deputy battalion commander of Infantry Battalion 271, has been appointed as the new commander to fill the vacancy. According to internal military sources, while there are allegations that the arrested commander was attempting to convince his entire battalion to defect, this information cannot be independently verified. Some sources suggest the arrest might have been orchestrated by the two strategic commanders, though this remains speculation.
