The Naypyitaw chief of the junta’s proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has vowed to hunt down and bomb Arakan Army (AA) chief Tun Myat Naing, vowing to eradicate the ethnic armed group.
USDP Naypyitaw chair Hla Swe, widely known by his nickname “Bullet,” made the remarks in a social media video posted Monday, as the regime intensifies its military offensive in Rakhine, where it has lost 14 of the state’s 17 townships to the AA.
Hla Swe is running for election in Naypyitaw’s Pobbathiri Township and is one of dozens of former military officers contesting the junta’s planned December-January election under the USDP banner.
The regime has shifted its military focus to Rakhine after the AA’s two main allies, under Chinese pressure, signed a ceasefire with the junta in northern Shan State after seizing large areas of territory.
Hla Swe issued the threat just days after Rakhine Buddhist and Muslim communities, along with supporters abroad, publicly congratulated Tun Myat Naing on his 47th birthday on Friday and prayed for the success of the revolution.
Hla Swe responded by doubling down on violent rhetoric, declaring that he would bomb Tun Myat Naing wherever he was found.
Vowing to uproot the AA, he admitted to having previously urged the bombing of Kachin Independence Army headquarters in Laiza while skipping peace negotiations “because I am a hardliner.”
Notorious for incendiary speech, the former lawmaker earned his nickname during 2013 peace talks under Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian government when he proposed bullets instead of diplomacy to resolve the conflict in Kachin.
Since the 2021 coup, the former lieutenant-colonel has played a central role in arming Pyu Saw Htee militias in Magwe Region’s Gangaw, his former constituency. He also runs the military-backed Bullet Journal, which routinely uses hate speech and threats to target the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD), Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and ethnic resistance forces.
AA chief Tun Myat Naing is directing administrative control of the state from inside Rakhine, while the junta retains authority in only three townships: Kyaukphyu, Sittwe, and Manaung.
However, the junta has escalated ground offensives, deployed naval forces, and launched repeated airstrikes across Rakhine in recent weeks, resulting in multiple civilian casualties. Pro-junta media outlets indicate the regime is actively hunting for Tun Myat Naing’s whereabouts.
The regime’s plan for phased elections in December and January has been widely dismissed as a sham to cement military rule via the USDP, a front for the army that seized power from the elected NLD in 2021.
The USDP was founded in 2010 as a vehicle for the generals to retain power in civilian guise while organizing general elections after decades of repressive military rule.
Other USDP leaders notorious for supporting violence include chairman Khin Yi, Nay, central executive member Maung Myint, and Yangon chair Khin Maung Soe. They sit alongside retired generals who swapped their uniforms for civilian dress but continue to oversee campaigns of bombing and repression.
Analysts warn that this mix of military hardliners and ultranationalist USDP politicians guarantees that bloodshed will continue under the junta’s electoral facade.
