Resistance investigates own members for beheading prisoners of war

After footage emerged appearing to show the beheading of junta-trained militia members by anti-junta fighters, resistance groups in Myanmar claim they are investigating the incidents and taking necessary action against the suspected culprits. In Magway Region, the Beikthano People’s Defence Force (Beikthano PDF)—a resistance group unaffiliated with the publicly mandated National Unity Government—announced on December 5 that they were taking disciplinary action against four perpetrators within their ranks. The offenders in the other beheading incident, which took place in Mon State, were reportedly members of a resistance group commonly known as the Ye Belu unit under the command of the NUG’s defence ministry. According to Maung Maung Swe, the deputy minister of the NUG ministry of defence, a tribunal has been formed to investigate the execution in Mon State, reportedly committed by Htet Hlaing Win, the commander of the Ye Belu unit, who is more commonly referred to by the sobriquet “Ye Belu” himself. “We acted as soon as we learned about it. As an initial disciplinary measure, our military office has formed a tribunal to carry out an investigation,” Maung Maung Swe said last Thursday afternoon. He said the tribunal’s findings would determine what further action is necessary. Kyaw Zaw, a spokesperson for the NUG president’s office, confirmed that the publicly mandated body is acting to investigate and prosecute the case to the full extent of the law. “The National Unity Government will investigate and take legal action without discrimination if unlawful acts took place,” Kyaw Zaw said. Myanmar Now attempted to contact Ye Belu for comment but received no response. Whether he has been arrested by the NUG remains unclear. A video clip with a length of around 20 seconds began circulating on social media last Tuesday, which appeared to show the Ye Belu commander—wearing a backwards cap and bulletproof vest with the insignia of the NUG’s defence ministry—executing a man by severing his head with a sword. During the beheading, the man in the vest and cap said, “My parents are still having to run even now,” and “Until the end of the world, boys!" The video also shows another armed man picking up the severed head and placing it back on the headless body. The NUG defence ministry’s Special Operations Force (SOF) confirmed that the incident occurred in late June or July of this year, and identified the victim as Gaung Phyu, also called Min Zan, a known member of the Pyu Saw Htee “people’s militias” sponsored and trained in rural areas by the military junta and its supporters. “Currently we're at the stage of investigating and examining the incident. Once we have all the details of what happened, we’ll report up the chain of command and take further action as directed from above,” SOF officer Aung San Shar told Myanmar Now on Thursday. “At this point it's difficult to provide specific details,” he added. “Any actions will be taken within the framework of existing rules, regulations, and laws.” Htet Hlaing Win, also known as Ye Belu (far right), when the unit under his command was incorporated into the NUG command structure in 2023 (Photo - NUG) Min Zan, a leader of the Pyu Saw Htee militia in Kun Du village in Mon State’s Ye Township, was captured on the evening of June 30 carrying two hand grenades and a pair of handcuffs. A video of his interrogation was posted the next day on Ye Belu’s Facebook page. In the video, which is just over one minute and 15 seconds long, the Ye Belu commander Htet Hlaing Win, who is in his 30s, can be seen interrogating the militia leader. Min Zan, who is wearing a red long-sleeved shirt and white longyi, can be seen sitting with his hands tied behind his back as he pleads for his captors to be merciful and give him another chance. While the victim’s face is not clearly visible in the shorter clip showing the beheading, he is wearing similar clothing and otherwise appears to resemble Min Zan. The Ye Belu unit was established in Ye Township, Mon State in January of 2022, and began operating under the Special Operations Force of the NUG defence ministry’s southern regional command in December of last year. The unit previously became notorious for its attacks on junta troops and administrative offices and its successful cooperation with other regional resistance forces based in Ye. In August 2022, five junta-appointed civil servants were killed in one of the unit’s assaults on a junta-controlled immigration office. Inhumanity In response to the brutal interrogation and execution shown in the video clips, NUG human rights minister Aung Myo Min said that such conduct was unacceptable either according to the military code of conduct or from a human rights perspective. “I have advised the relevant ministry to conduct an effective investigation as quickly as possible and take effective action. The ministry of human rights will also work to ensure this happens,” Aung Myo Min said. The MOD's guidelines on prisoner detention, issued on December 19, 2021, stipulate the humane treatment of prisoners of war, prohibiting any physical, psychological, or sexual torture or threats. The military junta is known for its brutality in killing civilians as well as captured fighters, carrying out extrajudicial executions that often involve beheading, dismemberment, or mutilation. During the recent full moon day of the Buddhist festival of Thadingyut, junta forces beheaded several captives in their custody, including elderly people, during a raid on Si Par village in Budalin Township. Some members of the armed resistance recognise that they should adhere to stricter ethical standards than the army their fight against the dictatorship it defends. “We are fighting against the brutal, dictatorial military council. We don't want and shouldn't use methods and practices like theirs,” said one member of an NUG-commanded PDF battalion in Shwebo District, Sagaing Region. “If we become as cruel as the military council, we’ll sink down to their level,” he added. An execution near Naypyitaw Members of the Beikthano PDF reportedly killed Min Min, another leader of a Pyu Saw Htee militia armed and trained by the junta, on November 29. The militia was based in a village on the road between the junta-controlled administrative capital Naypyitaw and the village of Kan Pyar, located in Magway Region northwest of the ancient city of Beikthano in Taungdwingyi Township. The Beikthano PDF members reportedly beheaded the militia leader after killing him. A video posted online appeared to show the resistance fighters kicking the head around on the ground like a ball while making jeering comments. The Beikthano PDF released a statement claiming that four of its members were punished for violating international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Kyeekan, a leading officer of the Beikthano PDF, told Myanmar Now that the four were not punished for the killing itself, but for their actions after the killing. “They weren’t punished for the clearing operation,” he said, referring to the sweeps of captured territory routinely conducted by resistance groups to search for fighters or weapons left behind by retreating enemy forces. The Beikthano PDF comprises various units unaffiliated with the NUG, operating in Magway Region’s Taungdwingyi, Natmauk, and Myothit townships. The group, previously organised as the Beikthano Territory People’s Defence Army, previously coordinated their operations in eastern Magway Region with the NUG, but have since reformed as an independent resistance group. According to Kyeekan, the Beikthano PDF still sometimes works with battalions under the NUG defence ministry’s command in joint ground operations. On pro-junta propaganda channels on social media, users reacted with shock to the news of a militia leader’s execution less than 70 miles west of Naypyitaw, calling on the military council to send in troops to retaliate. Min Min, an ultranationalist also known by the name Myo Chit Ko Min, was known for his support of the Ma Ba Tha, a group of nationalist monks that preached religious hate and chauvinism, and his establishment of a military-allied “social aid” group as well as his leadership in the Pyu Saw Htee militias. Known for wearing army fatigues and carrying loaded firearms despite being a civilian, he regularly posted photos and videos online that showed him working with the junta to inspect vehicles at road checkpoints or search civilian households to ensure compliance with overnight guest registration rules. In one video, he was heard to say, “When I meet civilians, I’m a civilian. When I meet terrorists, I'm a soldier.” According to Kyeekan, Min Min began gathering intelligence and conducting surveillance for the army around Magway and Naypyitaw in late 2022, with his activities becoming well-known by the next year. Kyeekan speculated that members of the Beikthano PDF had been moved to kill Min Min and desecrate his body by vengeful anger after the earlier death of one of their leaders, Red Crane Battalion commander Kyi Zoe, in a clash with junta troops in the Bago Yoma hills at the end of November. Min Min alongside pro-junta militia members Resistance forces have limited territorial control in the townships of Magway, Natmauk, and Taungdwingyi on the east bank of the Ayeyarwady River. According to a leader of the Magway Guerrilla Force operating in the area, anti-junta groups control less than 30 percent of the territory east of the river. “The percentage is still quite low. Even when we have the financial means to buy ammunition, it’s not easy in this area,” he said. The west bank of the river has stronger resistance force activity due to its proximity to the Rakhine Yoma range and Chin Hills, where anti-junta ethnic armed organisations maintain a strong presence and pose an additional threat to the Myanmar army’s dominance. While the army has not yet conducted ground operations in response to Min Min's killing, resistance sources claim to have seen an increase in the number of militia members stationed at town entrances and exits in Magway District, including Taungdwingyi, Natmauk, and Myothit.

Resistance investigates own members for beheading prisoners of war

While the National Unity Government (NUG) conducts inquiries into a reported extrajudicial execution in Mon State, an independent resistance force is disciplining its members for desecrating the body of a pro-junta militia leader in Magway Region

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