Three soldiers who recently defected to the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) have exposed the brutal tactics of Myanmar’s military council. Private Aung Naing Lay from Infantry Battalion 355 in Thaton, Private Naung Phyo Wai from Infantry Battalion 117 under Division 55, and Private Kaung Htet Aung from Infantry Battalion 355 revealed that new recruits are being forced to fight on the frontlines with threats of execution if they attempt to retreat.
According to defector Private Aung Naing Lay, military council officers are ordering impossible operations while providing insufficient weapons and ammunition to new recruits. He explained that senior officers remain in the rear while sending new soldiers to the front lines. He also disclosed that there is systematic abuse within the military, with threats of execution for those who retreat during battle. The military council’s senior leadership issues unrealistic orders from safe positions while forcing new recruits into dangerous situations with inadequate resources.
Private Kaung Htet Aung similarly reported that new recruits are being used as cannon fodder on the frontlines. He stated that he fled because he could no longer endure being ordered to carry out impossible military operations. Private Naung Phyo Wai also revealed that within the military, new recruits are subjected to physical abuse and torture, creating an environment of fear through which they are controlled and forced to serve.
Private Aung Naing Lay, who is from Magway Region, ended up in the military after being deceived by a ward administrator while working in Yangon. The military council has been conducting recruitment training courses since April 2024, now reaching their 15th batch of recruits. The testimonies of these defected soldiers reveal that the military council is using new recruits as human shields and committing war crimes through their tactics of forcing inexperienced soldiers into deadly combat situations while threatening to execute those who attempt to retreat.
