Regime forces executed members of the Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLA) earlier this year to avoid having to hold them as prisoners, according to a video report released by the group on June 1.
In the video, the PNLA shows what it claims is the execution of its members on January 13, a day after their capture during fighting east of the southern Shan State town of Hsihseng.
The video shows four individuals dressed in green uniforms, believed to be PNLA soldiers, being shot in the back by a man in a junta army uniform armed with a rifle.
The four individuals are standing with their hands tied behind their backs and then collapse to the ground after gunshots are fired.
A second rifle is also visible during the shooting, but the person holding it remains out of sight.
According to a person close to the Pa-O National Army (PNA), an ethnic Pa-O armed group aligned with the regime, the junta soldiers justified the killings by saying that holding them as prisoners would be too much of a burden.
“Five individuals were arrested, including one who was just a child. The junta army intended to kill them all,” he said, speaking to Myanmar Now on condition of anonymity.
“They said that following military protocol would require too much work. It would be less trouble if they made it appear as though the detainees were killed in battle,” he added.
The child soldier was spared after PNA commanders intervened and is currently in the group’s custody pending his return to his family, according to the source.
However, PNLA Secretary Col. Khun Aung Man told Myanmar Now that the junta soldier who filmed the executions said that all five prisoners were tortured and killed. He added that the video shared online was seized from the soldier after he was taken prisoner during fighting in Karenni State.
He also expressed regret over the conflict, saying that PNLA did not wish to engage in clashes with fellow Pa-O people.
“However, when they choose to side with the junta, fighting becomes unavoidable. The brutal execution of captured Pa-O youths could further undermine future national unity,” he said.
The PNA and PNLA are offshoots of the Pa-O National Liberation Organisation, which split into two groups in the early 1970s over the question of aligning with the Communist Party of Burma.
Both groups later went on to sign ceasefire agreements with Myanmar’s military, but in late January of last year, the PNLA decided to join forces with the Karenni resistance after junta troops and the PNA seized a shipment of weapons from them in Shan State’s Hopong Township.
Days later, a joint force of PNLA and Karenni fighters captured the town of Hsihseng, but was soon forced to retreat after a counteroffensive by junta and PNA troops.
