A defected soldier named Nan Lin Thu has revealed that numerous military council troops were killed during the battle in Nyaung Kyoe, Pantaung 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, while the remaining troops scattered and fled in disarray.
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 taken to Light Infantry Battalion 6 (Underground) and subsequently sent to the No. 4 Military Advanced Training School in Wekali, Thayazayat Township, where he completed Military Service Course No. 6. After training, he was deployed to the Natsankwin frontline outpost in Kyaukkyi Township, Bago Region, before being transferred to the Nyaung Kyoe outpost.
On March 16, Nan Lin Thu surrendered without weapons to the Underground Guerrilla Force-Oakpho, Battalion 3802 Division 4 of Thayarwady District. According to his testimony, he had attempted to escape while at the Natsankwin frontline but was unable to do so due to minefields. Later, when he was ordered to go to Rakhine State and was at the Taungoo base for ammunition resupply, he managed to escape. However, he was recaptured at the Minaing Chaung checkpoint in Thayarwady and detained at the Pyay military base. The military council subsequently released him from detention and sent him back to Nyaung Kyoe. The Thayarwady District PDF has announced that any serving soldiers, including those forcibly conscripted as porters, who surrender to revolutionary forces with their weapons will be appropriately rewarded.
