Mai A Shai, Jul 14, Nawnghkio
The junta’s military is using newly conscripted troops among more than 1,000 soldiers in its offensive on Nawnghkio Township, northern Shan State. Some of these new conscripts have reportedly defected to the Danu People’s Liberation Army (DPLA).
“Ninety percent of the junta troops we have either arrested or who have defected to us are recent conscripts,” Ko Tun Tun Naing, the DPLA chair, told Shwe Phee Myay.
The DPLA released video footage on July 14 of a defector who explained his recruitment by the junta’s military.
The private, originally a rickshaw vendor in Salin Township, Magway Region, was arrested by a pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia while selling goods and then conscripted into the military.
“I sold snacks in the neighborhood. They [Pyu Saw Htee members] accused me of being a PDF supporter and claimed my goods were meant to supply the PDFs,” the defector private recalled.
They threw away the goods on his rickshaw and searched it. On that day, he had about 1 million kyats in his wallet as he got paid by some retail clients.
“They took my money and phone, telling me I would get them back later. However, even after I reached basic military training, I never got them back,” he said.
The junta’s military is currently deploying hundreds of newly conscripted young troops in its Nawnghkio offensive in northern Shan State. While the Danu People’s Liberation Army (DPLA) claims to have received some defecting junta troops, it has not yet released an exact number.
DPLA Chair Ko Tun Tun Naing said their resistance force has “already transported the defectors back to their hometowns, but those who have been arrested remain under detention.”
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