Over 30 detained Myanmar regime police officers escape from resistance custody in Sagaing Region

Dozens of prisoners from a National Unity Government (NUG) detention centre in Sagaing Region have reached the junta-controlled town of Tamu after escaping on December 12, according to resistance sources. Most of the 34 escapees were junta police officers who had surrendered when resistance forces captured Myo Thit, a town about 29 miles north of Tamu, in May. The men initially took shelter in Min Thar, a village about 11 miles south of Myo Thit on the road to Tamu, after making their escape, according to a Tamu District People's Defense Force (PDF) fighter who spoke to Myanmar Now. He added that a regime police officer who claimed to have joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) helped the prisoners break free. "Since the police officer who pretended to join the CDM knew the area well, they were able to escape easily," he said. The detention facility that the prisoners escaped from is operated by the Tamu Township People's Security Team (PST), under the NUG's Ministry of Home Affairs. A source close to the Tamu PST revealed that Zeyar Htike, the police officer who planned the escape, only recently joined the CDM."The CDM policeman, Zeyar Htike, who orchestrated the prison break, only joined the CDM after the Myo Thit battle," the source stated. Typically, police and military personnel who join the CDM undergo a six-month observation period. However, this precaution was not taken in the case of Zeyar Htike, who is also now missing, the source added. According to the source, some CDM police and soldiers linked to Zeyar Htike have been detained and are currently being investigated. Neither the NUG nor the PDF’s Military Region 1, responsible for armed resistance operations in Sagaing, Magway, and Mandalay regions and northern Shan State, have issued statements about the escape. On May 11, Military Region 1 announced that 21 police personnel, including a police station chief and two of his deputies, surrendered by raising white flags following the capture of Myo Thit.

Over 30 detained Myanmar regime police officers escape from resistance custody in Sagaing Region

A junta policeman pretending to take part in the Civil Disobedience Movement was instrumental in planning and facilitating the prison break

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