One of five army deserters in Dawei, Tanintharyi Region was shot dead by the junta’s troops on Sunday night and three others were arrested, a local told Myanmar Now on the condition of anonymity.
The five soldiers were from the Dawei-based Light Infantry Battalions (LIBs) 401 and 402. They allegedly fled their units on Sunday evening and went into hiding.
Later that night, the armed forces shot one of the deserters dead and three members of the group were apprehended the next morning near the village of Thabyay Chaung, according to the local source.
One of the soldiers reportedly escaped.
“They do not know the area well and did not try to get in touch with the PDF groups [People’s Defence Forces] based in the region,” the local said. “I think they just left the units on their own and lost their way.”
On Sunday evening, he said he saw six plainclothes armed men patrolling the area near Thabyay Chaung on three motorbikes.
Myanmar Now could not independently verify the claim.
The local, who is from the Thabyay Chaung area, said that the village is situated near several army units and around one-third of the residents are either veterans or relatives of military personnel.
The heavy military presence in the area may have been why the deserting soldiers were apprehended so quickly, he speculated.
At the time of reporting, there had been no announcement from the junta concerning the desertions in Dawei, the subsequent arrests, and the alleged killing .
On August 19, some 25 soldiers from the 25th Infantry Battalion also based in Dawei reportedly fled with their weapons and military authorities subsequently tightened security in the town.
Since the military seized power from the elected civilian government in the February 1 coup, around 1,500 soldiers have defected to join the anti-dictatorship movement, according to a former army captain who is helping fellow deserters. An estimated 1,000 are ranked between private and sergeant, and hundreds more are believed to be majors.
