Northern Shan State resistance force kills six former members branded as ‘traitors’

A resistance force based in northern Shan State shot and killed six former members last week who had left the group following a change in leadership, survivors of the attack said. 

A total of 14 ex-members of the People Security and Defence Army (PSDA) were assaulted while staying together in a house near the Shan-China border town of Muse on the evening of November 23. 

Gunmen ambushed the group, accusing them of being “traitors.” Six of the men were killed at the scene and four were captured alive; four more managed to escape, two of whom spoke to Myanmar Now about the attack. 

“They were all fully armed and they attacked us unannounced,” Sadan, a 25-year-old survivor, said. “All they did was yell ‘kill all traitors’ and then started shooting. I barely managed to survive—it was pure luck that I did.” 

According to Sadan, those who were killed were Raw, 22, Kyaw Kyaw, 23, Hlaing Gyi, Mone Daing, and Nay Gyi—all 25—and Maung Zaw, 27.

Leading the attack, he said, was PSDA deputy strategic officer and spokesperson Kyaw Gyi, accompanied by both a commander and a deputy commander of one of the group’s battalions. 

Sadan told Myanmar Now that he tried to carry the injured Hlaing Gyi to safety but had to leave him behind in order to save himself. He said that he later witnessed the 25-year-old being stabbed to death by the PSDA attackers with a pair of scissors. 

Of the four men who escaped, two were reportedly injured: one was shot in the elbow, and another was grazed by a bullet to the arm. 

A second survivor, 20-year-old Maung Sein, said he escaped by jumping out of a window, and watched the assault unfold from nearby. 

He said that he and the other young men had left the PSDA in late October. Its founding leader, Dawna Thanlwin, was killed in battle with the junta’s forces last February, and the group dynamics changed when another individual, Shweli Thanlwin, took over his role, Sein explained. He alleged that the PSDA had misused funds under Shweli Thanlwin’s leadership. 

Three of the 14 exiting members officially informed their PSDA supervisors of their departure, and turned over their weapons and ammunition before leaving. 

The others reportedly also left their guns behind, with the exception of a single pistol, and had been planning to carry on fighting in the anti-junta resistance movement in honour of their late commander Dawna Thanlwin. 

“I would have understood if they had imprisoned us or given us some other punishment if they were not happy with our decision—it’s not that uncommon among the defence forces to do that [when members don’t follow orders from above],” Maung Sein said. “However, they decided to open fire on us unannounced instead.” 

The PSDA declared on their Facebook page on November 18 that three individuals—identified as Hero, Sein Gyi and Thura—had been removed from the group after deserting. 

PSDA spokesperson and alleged attacker Kyaw Gyi told Myanmar Now that the “deserters” were killed in a clash, and had been the first to open fire on the approaching PSDA team. 

“We don’t blame them for splintering off from the group and we actually don’t mind them starting a new group,” he said. “However, the clash took place because they were not just starting a new group—they were on the wrong path.” 

Kyaw Gyi claimed that there have been other incidents where “deserters” have launched attacks on the PSDA. He explained that his group felt it had to “strike first” in order to prevent being targeted in the future, adding that plots were underway to break up the PSDA.

He dismissed the allegations of misused funds as a “personal attack.” 

The evening that the group of 14 were attacked by the PSDA, they were largely unarmed, survivor Maung Sein noted. 

“They should have had a civilised talk with us even if they regarded us as mere deserters. They didn’t even attempt to talk, opening fire as soon as they saw us—and relentlessly at that,” he told Myanmar Now. “To be completely blunt, they slaughtered us as if we were helpless animals.”

According to Kyaw Gyi, the six slain men were cremated and the four captured alive were being interrogated by the PSDA at the time of reporting.  

Since its founding in April 2021 following the military coup two months earlier, the PSDA has been carrying out attacks on Myanmar military convoys and columns using explosive devices and guerrilla tactics. 

On October 18, its members claimed responsibility for the assassination of Lt-Col Pyae Phyo Aung, commander of Light Infantry Battalion 421 under Light Infantry Division 99, near the Milestone 105 commercial zone near Muse. 

While the PSDA is not under the direct command of the National Unity Government, the group is allied with the publicly mandated administration.