Defected soldier Naing Win Soe has exposed the military’s forced actions and brutal treatment of villagers in Rakhine State. Originally from Kyun Seik village in Kawhmu Township, Yangon Region, Naing Win Soe was forcibly recruited through porter arrest by the village administrator in January 2025. He was sent to military training batch 9 and subsequently deployed to Rakhine State, where he served in Division 55 before eventually defecting to the Arakan Army (AA).
During his service in Sittwe, he was assigned to Myinghkyin Island and eastern guard posts where the military forced conscripted soldiers to enter villages, destroy homes, and even remove monastery pillars. He revealed that the military mistreated conscripted soldiers by providing poor food and subjecting them to oppressive orders. The military threatened to shoot soldiers who attempted to escape from the frontlines and spread false propaganda claiming that the Arakan Army would behead defectors.
The military showed fabricated photos at training schools depicting the AA’s alleged brutal treatment of defected soldiers, causing many conscripted soldiers to fear defection despite wanting to leave. However, Naing Win Soe testified that when he actually defected, the Arakan Army warmly welcomed and properly cared for him, contrary to the military’s propaganda. The military council primarily uses conscripted soldiers in frontline combat operations, and when these soldiers are killed, their families are often not notified of their deaths, according to military sources.
