Handcuffed senior Myanmar military official showcased as POW by TNLA soldiers

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) has published video footage of a brigadier general delivering a spoken message after the ethnic armed organisation captured him in the battle for Namhsan, northern Shan State. In the video, published on YouTube on Wednesday night, Brig-Gen Min Min Tun is flanked by two TNLA fighters holding rifles, offering an apparent coerced apology to the Ta’ang people. While there were no obvious signs in the recording that the officer had been subjected to torture or physical abuse, Article 99 of the 1949 Geneva Convention regarding the treatment of prisoners prohibits the “moral or physical coercion” of a prisoner of war (POW) “in order to induce him to admit himself guilty of the act of which he is accused.” The Myanmar army has long been the armed actor most widely linked to such rights violations in the country. Wednesday’s video caption and description refer to the spoken statement as a “confession” from Min Min Tun, 48, who served as the commander of Infantry Division 101 based in Pakokku, Magway Region, before his capture. Min Min Tun is the highest-ranking member of the Myanmar military captured by anti-junta forces since the start of Operation 1027, a sweeping campaign initiated by the Brotherhood Alliance of ethnic armed organisations in October, which has resulted in the capture of scores of junta bases and more than a dozen towns in the north of the country. The Brotherhood Alliance—which in addition to the TNLA includes the Arakan Army and the ethnic Kokang Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA)—launched the offensive to push the regime’s forces out of northern Shan State. In the video, Min Min Tun was seated indoors with his hands and a document on a table in front of him and handcuffs on his wrists. Most of the video showed him speaking into the camera. “I am Brigadier General Min Min Tun. I am the commander of Division 101. I would like to apologise to the Ta’ang people, including the general public,” the officer said with evident reluctance. “I would like to urge the military leaders to stop the acts they are committing at the moment,” he added. In the video, Min Min Tun also says he was born in Pathein, in Ayeyarwady Region, and joined the military in 1995. Before a promotion transferred him to Namhsan in September 2022, he had served in Naypyitaw for four years. Starting on December 10, military bases outside of Namhsan came under attack by the TNLA, forcing the junta troops stationed there to retreat to a post in central Namhsan. “On December 14, we were attacked by drop bombs and we were outnumbered, that is why our troops, including me, withdrew from the outpost,” Min Min Tun explained in the TNLA video. “As we were attacked, our troops got separated. I was stationed in a valley nearby. The next morning while I was reaching out to my comrades, they captured me alongside other personnel,” he added. Among the towns recently seized by the TNLA are Manton and Namhsan in the Palaung (Ta’ang) Self-Administered Zone, an area of northern Shan State designated for self-government by the Ta’ang ethnic community in Myanmar’s military-drafted 2008 Constitution. Ta’ang National Liberation Army fighters enter the junta’s military command headquarters in Kutkai Township in Myanmar's northern Shan State last week. Kutkai and Hsenwi (Hseni) are the latest towns captured by the TNLA and its allies since their initiation of a major military offensive against junta forces in October. (Myanmar Now) The TNLA—the armed wing of the Palaung State Liberation Front—has issued statements saying its aims include a Ta’ang state, self-determination, and democracy within northern Shan State. The group has also come into conflict with the Restoration Council of Shan State, an ethnic Shan armed organisation that agreed to a 2015 ceasefire with the Myanmar military. In his recorded statement, Min Min Tun acknowledged that the military deployed heavy artillery and airstrikes in Namhsan, which resulted in the deaths of 12 civilians and injuries to 16, as well as severe damage to 131 houses. Having recited these figures, Min Min Tun said, “I am very sorry.” He urged the military to put an end to the civil war in the country and cooperate with the people for the sake of the public. He also addressed his family, saying he was safe and that the TNLA had treated him well. “I honestly would like to admit that casualties against civilians are caused by reckless shooting that misses the intended targets,” said Min Min Tun. “As the person holding the greatest responsibility here, I would like to apologise to the Ta’ang people for that.” The TNLA and allied fighters overran army bases and four temporary outposts in joint attacks during the first two weeks of January, ultimately managing to seize a large cache of weapons from retreating junta forces. (Myanmar Now) Operation 1027 has forced an unprecedented number of army troops to surrender to ethnic armed organisations in northern Shan State. Two other brigadier generals were also reportedly held briefly by the Brotherhood Alliance near Laukkai, the capital of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone on the China-Myanmar border, but were said to have been released following negotiations. Both men, Kyaw Moe Thu and Tun Tun Myint, had been serving at the Laukkai regional operations command headquarters, and were pictured eating and drinking with MNDAA officials after surrendering their post to the group on January 4. Since December, the Myanmar military regime has struggled to maintain control of northern Shan State and have sent delegations to China-brokered peace negotiations with the Brotherhood Alliance. Soon after the capture of Laukkai in the first week of January, junta leader Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing reshuffled his cabinet, replacing his national security advisor Lt-Gen Yar Pyae with a younger man and former navy chief Adm Moe Aung.

Handcuffed senior Myanmar military official showcased as POW by TNLA soldiers

Video footage released by the Ta’ang ethnic armed organisation shows the captured general apologising for the military’s brutality around Namhsan, northern Shan State

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