Another soldier in Magway Region’s Yesagyo Township defected from the Myanmar military last month and handed himself over to the People’s Defence Force (PDF) along with a rifle and ammunition, the resistance group has said.
Private Abel Latt abandoned Infantry Battalion 258 on Sunday along with an MA-2 rifle, five magazines, and 135 bullets, a statement by the Yesagyo PDF said.
“He said that he still hadn’t received his salary and that he no longer wanted to follow the junta’s orders, and that this was the reason he decided to take the people’s side,” the group’s leader, Wai Gyi, told Myanmar Now.
Abel Latt has been sent to an area under the control of an ethinc armed group, Wai Gyi said, adding that he welcomed more defections. “We don’t give them any money as rewards but we try to fulfill all of their needs,” he said.
The private is 31 years old and was born in Karenni State. He first joined IB 258 three months ago, Wai Gyi said.
Abel Latt is the seventh junta soldier to defect in Yesagyo Township since May.
On January 18, two soldiers defected from IB 256 and surrendered to the Yesagyo PDF along with an M1 rifle. They told resistance fighters that they had not received enough food in the army.
Another soldier handed himself over without any weapons on January 28, Wai Gyi added.
In May and July, a corporal from Light Infantry Battalion 278 and two privates from IB 257 surrendered to the Yesagyo PDF.
