NUG investigates alleged murder by PDF fighters in Bago Region

The National Unity Government (NUG) is probing accusations of murder against members of one of the People’s Defence Forces (PDF) under its command in western Bago Region. The fighters under investigation are members of the PDF’s Thayarwaddy District Battalion 3801, which is based in the Bago Range (Bago Yoma) and is known for its leadership and prowess demonstrated in raids on junta bases in Thayarwaddy and Pyay townships. Major Moe Kyoe Gyi, the battalion’s commander, is alleged to have killed five civilians in 2024 and to have executed the leader of a local defense group and taken 18 of its other members captive in February 2025.The detainees were members of the Yangon Western District People’s Defence Team (PDT), while the slain victim was the group's leader, Ko Paing.When contacted by Myanmar Now, Moe Kyoe Gyi denied the allegations. He had claimed in an earlier statement that reports of PDF members killing each other were fabricated and spread deliberately by the military council or junta-trained Pyu Saw Htee militias. The regional military commander of the NUG’s defence ministry confirmed to Myanmar Now that local people had contacted the ministry with accusations that members of Battalion 3801 were killing people. Battalion 3801 released a statement in February claiming that the Yangon Western District PDT, whose members they had targeted, had been operating under several names including People’s Defence Team, People’s Administration Team, People’s Defence Force, ethnic armed group, and Free Burma Defence Group. They added that the group was allegedly participating in illegal timber harvesting, extortion, and the killing of civilians in the Bago Range.A woman close to the defence team’s leader, Ko Paing, told Myanmar Now that Moe Kyoe Gyi, ordered the arrest of the team’s members after inviting them to meet. She later learned that Ko Paing, the leader of the detained group, had been killed before February 22. Tin Oo, the commander of the NUG Ministry of Defence’s Military Region 2, confirmed that Ko Paing had died and that the NUG was investigating the case. “Upon being informed of this incident on February 22, we immediately established a regional investigation team, and investigations are underway,” Tin Oo told Myanmar Now. “Ko Paing’s group had been reported for acting without proper oversight, and we received instructions from the relevant strategic unit to question and engage with them,” he added. “We are also conducting a thorough investigation into Sai Nwan Pa and Ko Paing’s group.” Sai Nwan Pa, one of the local defence team members detained by Moe Kyoe Gyi’s battalion (Photo: Supplied) “The incident did not occur as reported. The claim of 19 soldiers is false. We are disappointed that such fake news is circulating on social media. The truth will be made clear once the investigations are finished,” Moe Kyoe Gyi said in a message to his followers on Telegram. “It is also untrue that they were members of a People’s Defence Team,” he added. “This small group operates under different assumed names, including PDF, PDT, and KNU. With regard to the incident in question, they had no affiliation with any organisation, and there are audio recordings in which the KNU claims responsibility. The groups criticizing the NUG, defence ministry, and resistance forces are the ones behind this misinformation.” Moe Kyoe Gyi was unable to give a clear answer when asked whether the detained group leader had been killed. A February 23 post on his Facebook claimed Ko Paing and his fellow team members had been treated “in accordance with military rules and regulations”, but did not address whether Ko Paing was dead or alive. The Facebook post on the PDF commander’s page claimed that there had been talks in preparation for admitting Ko Paing’s group into the NUG’s command structure, but they had stalled after four months. The post also accused Ko Paing of leaking confidential information to the military regime. “They not only threatened civilians with firearms but also killed them without justification,” Moe Kyoe Gyi’s Facebook post read. “Civilians in the areas we relied on were too afraid to stay and had to relocate. They also conducted unnecessary checks on the transportation of weapons and ammunition, resulting in information leaks.”Lu Aye, an official of the National League for Democracy in Bago Region who is familiar with the case, claimed members of Moe Kyoe Gyi’s PDF unit as well as Ko Paing’s PDT had both been involved in illicit timber production in the Bago Range. “The main issue is that Moe Kyoe Gyi’s group is not engaged in resistance activities but is focused exclusively on illegal timber harvesting,” he said. “Besides Moe Kyoe Gyi’s group, the deputy commander of Battalion 3701 Nyein Chang Aung has also established himself in the range, setting up an area to extract timber from the forest. The soldiers in the western district are aware of their timber production activities. This is really a conflict between two timber smuggling factions,” he added.Moe Kyoe Gyi denied that Battalion 3801 was profiting from timber production in the Bago Range.“Our battalion is not involved in the timber industry. This is fabricated news spread by our detractors. False information has been circulating because people are making statements without conducting proper investigations on the ground,” he said.Lu Aye also accused Moe Kyoe Gyi of killing five residents of Baw Bin village in Zigon Township, Bago Region in August 2024. He explained that 35 different resistance groups, including local defence forces, filed complaints with the NUG about the killings but investigations into them had yet to show any progress.Moe Kyoe Gyi did not give a clear response to Myanmar Now’s enquiries about these accusations, replying only that his group was under attack.Civilians living in Thayarwaddy District, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there were extensive timber harvesting operations ongoing in the Bago Range, with loggers paying “taxes” to the PDF out of their proceeds.“They charge 200,000 kyat [US $95] for each motorcycle transporting timber, 3 million kyat [US $1,400] per month for each sawmill used by the loggers, and 200,000 kyat for each ox cart,” a local woman said.Tin Oo, commander of the National Unity Government (NUG) defence ministry’s Military Region 2, told Myanmar Now that the NUG issued a strict directive to PDF fighters based in the Bago Range in March of last year prohibiting all logging in the area. “Timber logging, including illegal logging, had occurred before. We were concerned that our units might get involved, so in 2024, we issued a notice to prohibit it,” he said. “Despite this, we received reports of some battalions and units still participating, prompting us to issue further warnings. Timber logging is now completely banned.”He emphasised that the regional command would take action against individuals found to be in breach of the NUG’s instructions.“Revolution is revolution. Illegal activities and injustices have no place in it,” he said. “You cannot commit unlawful acts or injustices under the guise of revolution. While we may not be able to take action immediately due to the difficulties of the revolution, we will maintain a systematic record and revisit these issues to ensure justice is served eventually.”

NUG investigates alleged murder by PDF fighters in Bago Region

Allegations that a PDF battalion commander had murdered at least six victims including a local resistance leader emerged amid rumours of resistance fighters profiting from illicit timber harvesting in in the Bago Hills

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