Nearly 500 Myanmar junta soldiers have deserted over the past four months, the shadow National Unity Government’s prime minister, Mahn Win Khaing Than, told the NUG’s 28th cabinet meeting recently.
More than 50 junta soldiers have defected since early August, and nearly 500 junta soldiers, including a major serving as a deputy battalion commander, defected in the four months from April to July.
Desertions have risen as the regime steps up its terror campaign against civilians, violates their rights, and fails to quell revolutionary forces.
The shadow civilian government claims that around 15,000 soldiers and police have joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) since the February 2021 coup.
A police constable guarding the China-backed Letpaduang copper mine in Sagaing Region defected on Thursday. Dozens of junta soldiers defected recently in Chin, Kayah and Karen states, where fierce clashes are taking place between resistance forces and junta troops.
People’s Embrace is among a number of groups set up by military personnel who have joined the CDM and are helping junta soldiers to quit their barracks. Many of the defectors have joined ethnic armed organizations or simply fled by themselves.
“The revolution is the cause of desertions. The military has been depleted since the coup by factors including defection, death, leave without absence, and soldiers suffering serious wounds. The number of defections is increasing,” CDM captain Htet Myat told The Irrawaddy.
Weakened by desertions, causalties and a recruitment crisis, the military has been forced to relax eligibility criteria for new officers and extend the deadline for applications to the defense services academy. It has also resorted to recruitment scams, posting advertisements on social media designed to mislead job seekers into thinking that the employer is a private company.
Meanwhile, junta boss Min Aung Hlaing has sponsored beach holidays for soldiers badly wounded in fighting as part of his retention and propaganda strategy. Battalion commanders have also been told to dine together with soldiers to boost their morale, and troupes of entertainers have been sent to entertain junta forces on the front line.
CDM captain Htet Myat said: “The military is conscripting anyone who meets the simple criterion of being human. None of the recruits is there because they want to be a soldier. I mean [the military is recruiting] the homeless and the hungry, and fugitives, and intimidating people into joining the army. So, the recruits are unwilling soldiers and they flee from the risk of death.”
The NUG has offered cash rewards of up to one billion kyats for junta soldiers who defect along with their weapons, aircraft and warships, as well as for destroying them. A group named Pyithu Thar Kaung, set up by CDM soldiers and police, also offers cash rewards for defectors who bring weapons with them.
The military is suffering chaos with desertions of privates and frequent purging of commanders by Min Aung Hlaing. Meanwhile, resistance forces have begun launching operations in Naypyitaw, the seat of the country’s ruling generals.
