Three Pyu Saw Htee members from Kan Ni village in Myaing Township, Magway Region, have defected with their families and exposed how their leader has been sexually abusing young women in the village at gunpoint. The defectors include two Pyu Saw Htee members in their thirties, one in their twenties, and three children. They revealed disturbing details about the systematic abuse of young women in their village by the Pyu Saw Htee leader.
On May 7, the group fled from Kan Ni Pyu village and contacted the local defense force expressing their desire to defect. After the authorities received their notification, they were safely extracted and provided protection. During subsequent questioning, they disclosed that the Pyu Saw Htee leader in Kan Ni village had been using weapons to threaten and sexually abuse young women in the village, forcing them to become his concubines.
According to an official from Battalion 15 in Pakokku District, among those who defected were two individuals who had been forced to carry weapons, and one woman who was the wife of a Pyu Saw Htee member. They revealed that the Pyu Saw Htee leader had been forcing young women in the village to become his minor wives through coercion and threats. Some of these women are now pregnant, and these abuses have reportedly been ongoing since the previous year.
The Kan Ni Pyu Saw Htee camp is currently under blockade by People’s Defense Force members, resulting in food shortages. There have been frequent defections due to the oppressive treatment by the military-affiliated Pyu Saw Htee forces. The recent defectors have brought to light the inhumane actions of the Pyu Saw Htee leader, adding to the growing evidence of systematic abuse within these military-backed militia groups. The situation highlights the ongoing crisis in Myanmar where civilian populations continue to suffer under military-affiliated armed groups.
