PDF battalion commander dies by suicide amid internal rifts in Magway resistance

Editor’s note: This article contains details of suicide that some readers may find distressing. A local People’s Defence Force battalion commander died by suicide in Magway Region’s Sidoktaya Township on October 1, reportedly shooting himself, according to resistance sources. Ho Gyi, 31, a veteran of the resistance who joined the People’s Defence Force (PDF) in its early days, had been serving as interim commander of Minbu District Battalion 3 for the past three months. On the morning of October 1, he fatally shot himself with an automatic rifle inside his barracks room. A diary containing a suicide note was found beside his body. In it, he urged his comrades to “revolutionise honestly” and “not trample on the shame, dignity, and lives of lower-ranking comrades.” The note also included the password to his online banking account.Resistance members in Minbu District told Myanmar Now that Ho Gyi’s decision was primarily due to high stress and disputes between senior leadership and lower-ranking members.“He told us he was mentally drained from the constant pressure imposed by upper management,” Comrade Viper, information officer of Minbu District Battalion 3, told Myanmar Now.Earlier this year, the commander of Minbu District Battalion 3 was arrested and interrogated over matters involving the removal of junta informants and allegations of extortion. Following this incident, Ho Gyi took over as interim battalion commander.The Magway District Supervisory Office later pulled a large number of troops from the battalion, redeploying them to other areas as part of a newly formed deployment plan.“They withdrew the battalion’s troops and reassigned them to a strategic unit,” Viper said. “Then, when the battalion was struggling to hold itself together, they pressured it to pull through at all costs.” He added that after the commander’s arrest — along with the withdrawal of many troops and the battalion’s weapons by the Magway District Supervisory Office — the remaining soldiers were left deeply demoralised. “They took our people away anyway and even confiscated our weapons, using the excuse that we did not have sufficient manpower to resist,” Viper said. “As a result, the soldiers were demoralised, and the battalion fell into chaos.”A resistance member close to Ho Gyi explained the pressures he faced.“First, district and regional authorities applied pressure without understanding the situation on the ground,” the source said. “Second, there was stress from insufficient funding to manage his organisation. Third, district-level orders were issued and claims made about actions being completed, even though nothing was actually done locally. These were the three main pressures.” Myanmar Now has reached out to Maung Maung Swe, Deputy Secretary of the NUG’s Ministry of Defense, about the handling of Ho Gyi’s suicide, but has yet to receive a response.Sidoktaya Township, which borders the Rakhine Yoma (Rakhine Hills), Chin Hills, and the townships of Salin, Pwintbyu, Ngape, Minbya, Kanpetlet, and Saw, is a known stronghold of resistance forces. “I want justice for him,” Viper said. “And I hope that the NUG takes strong action against those who unjustly oppressed him.”

PDF battalion commander dies by suicide amid internal rifts in Magway resistance

A 31-year-old battalion leader took his own life in Sidoktaya Township amid mounting pressure, internal disputes, and collapsing morale among his troops

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