A defected soldier named Nan Lin Thu has revealed that numerous military council troops were killed in the battle of Nyaung Kyoe, Penwegon Township, Bago Region, due to misguided airstrikes by the military council’s air force. According to his account, the combination of erroneous bombing by military aircraft and attacks by the Arakan Army (AA) resulted in the deaths of more than 120 military council soldiers, with the remaining troops dispersing and fleeing from their positions.
Nan Lin Thu, a new recruit, was forcibly conscripted on September 18, 2024, when he was captured as a porter by military council forces in Kyeepinkaut Township’s Yayban Seinyoegyi village. He was then taken to the 6th Military Operations Command and subsequently transferred to the No. 4 Army Training School in Wekali, Thanzayat Township, where he completed the 6th batch of military training. After completing his training, he was deployed to the Natsankwin frontline outpost in Kyaukkyi Township, Bago Region, before being transferred to the Nyaung Kyoe camp.
On March 16, Nan Lin Thu surrendered without weapons to the Underground Guerrilla Force-Ohtpo of Battalion 3802, Division 4, in Thayarwady District. He expressed his intention to join the revolutionary forces and fight against the terrorist military. According to his testimony, the number of casualties from the military council’s own airstrikes during the Nyaung Kyoe battle exceeded those caused by the AA’s attacks. A PDF official from Thayarwady District reported that Nan Lin Thu had attempted to escape from the Natsankwin frontline but was unable to do so due to minefields. When ordered to deploy to Rakhine State, he attempted to escape while restocking ammunition at the Taungoo base but was recaptured at the Thayarwady Meeningyaung checkpoint and detained at the Pyay military base. He was later released from detention and sent back to Nyaung Kyoe.
The Underground Guerrilla Force-Ohtpo of Battalion 3802, Division 4, in Thayarwady District has issued a statement encouraging all military council soldiers, including those forcibly conscripted as porters, to defect as soon as possible. The statement promises appropriate rewards for those who surrender to revolutionary forces with their weapons. This development highlights the ongoing internal struggles within the military council’s forces and the increasing number of defections to the resistance movement.
