Three members of the Pyu Saw Htee group from Kan Ni village in Myaing Township, Magway Region, have defected with their families and exposed the sexual abuse of young women by their leader who used weapons to threaten and assault them. The defectors include two Pyu Saw Htee members in their thirties and one in their twenties, along with three children. They fled from Kan Ni village on May 7 and contacted the local defense force expressing their desire to defect.
According to an official from Battalion 15 in Pakokku District, among those who defected were two individuals who had been forced to bear arms, and one woman who was the wife of a Pyu Saw Htee member. During interrogation, they revealed that the Pyu Saw Htee leader in Kan Ni village had been forcing young women in the village to become his minor wives through armed coercion, with some of them now pregnant. These abuses have reportedly been ongoing since the previous year. The defectors disclosed how the leader used his position of power and weapons to intimidate and sexually assault multiple young women in the village.
Currently, the Kan Ni Pyu Saw Htee camp is under blockade by People’s Defense Force members, resulting in food shortages within the camp. Many members have been frequently escaping due to their inability to endure the torture and oppression inflicted by the military council-affiliated Pyu Saw Htee leaders. This incident highlights another example of human rights violations committed by military council-affiliated groups against local civilians, particularly highlighting crimes against women and young girls. The defectors’ testimonies have brought to light the systematic abuse of power and sexual violence being perpetrated under the military council’s proxy forces in rural areas.
