Political prisoners escape police cell in Mon State under fire

A group of seven men being held on terrorism charges at a police station in Ye Township, Mon State, carried out a daring prison break late last week, according to locals and resistance sources. The inmates, convicted under sections 52a and 50j of the Counterterrorism Law, were being held in a detention cell at the Ye Police Station in an office complex in Ye’s Thiri Khaymar ward. The escape reportedly occurred on February 1 as the police were arriving to deliver their food. Prisoners seized guns from the officers on duty, engaging them in a shootout as their comrades made their way out of the station. Three inmates escaped and three police officers were killed, local sources said.The three escapees were subsequently rescued by the Ye Blue group, part of the Special Operations Force commanded by the publicly mandated National Unity Government, resistance sources said. As of Wednesday, efforts were underway to rescue the four detainees who stayed behind at the police station to provide cover in the shootout during the escape, the Ye Blue group’s leader told Myanmar Now. “When the police guards came with the food, they pulled open the cell door and everyone rushed to escape at once, causing chaos and making it impossible to capture them,” the Ye Group leader said, citing firsthand accounts. “Those who were able to seize guns provided cover fire. Those who could escape, escaped.” He added that the three who escaped were between 20 and 30 years old, but withheld their names out of concern for their families’ safety. “During the escape, three police officers fell right there. There were also police who were injured. The prisoners seized weapons from outside the detention cell and fought back with two AKs and a rifle,” he said. Deputy inspector Naing Lwin Oo, police corporal Myint Htun, and police private Kyaw Swa Htet died during the shootout, while the police station chief Major Myint Oo was shot in the chest and is receiving medical treatment, according to a February 2 report by the Independent Mon News Agency. While initial reports indicated only one prisoner had escaped, the Ye Blue group has confirmed they rescued three people. Section 52a of Myanmar’s Counterterrorism Law concerns committing, financing, or abetting terrorism, which carries a minimum sentence of 10 years to life in prison. Section 50j of the Counterterrorism Law is concerned with financing terrorism and carries the same range of sentences. The military junta has yet to release any public statements regarding the political prisoners’ escape. Pro-junta social media accounts confirmed that on the day of the escape, prisoners had seized guns from police officers and that the incident resulted in three police deaths. They also claimed that the station police chief had been injured and that some of the prisoners were returned to the cell while others managed to escape. As of February 3, 2025—four years after the coup—at least 6,244 pro-democracy activists have been killed and 21,737 remain detained, according to the monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). Armed resistance emerged throughout Myanmar in response to the Myanmar military’s seizure of power and violent crackdowns against nonviolent protesters. Resistance groups have gradually grown stronger in the southern areas of Tanintharyi Region and Mon and Karen states. The Route 8 highway, which is vital for the traffic of trade goods to and from the Thailand-Myanmar border, runs through Ye Township, and resistance groups there have grown notably stronger. According to locals, the military junta has been concentrating more of its forces in Ye Township since the beginning of this month.

Political prisoners escape police cell in Mon State under fire

Three police officers were killed as inmates detained on terrorism charges at a police station in Ye, Mon State, seized their guns and provided cover for their fellow prisoners to flee

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