Sagaing resistance group surrenders weapons to NUG, dissolves after leader’s killing

A local resistance group in Sagaing Township has surrendered its weapons to the National Unity Government (NUG) and disbanded following the killing of its leader, with remaining members citing fears for their safety, according to a source close to the group. Twenty-five members of the Sadaung Moe Kyoe People’s Defence Force (PDF) handed over 11 firearms and other items to the NUG’s Ministry of Defence on October 13 before dissolving the group, the source said. The decision followed the October 5 shooting death of the group’s 30-year-old leader, Moe Kyoe, at an internet shop in Aingdanma, a village in Sagaing Township, Sagaing Region. The source said an armed group of about 20 people arrived at the shop, with roughly 10 taking positions along the road while the others entered and shot Moe Kyoe. He died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds, and the attackers took one of his firearms and other belongings, according to local residents. The killing came after members of the Sadaung Moe Kyoe PDF and another local resistance group, along with some family members, surrendered to Myanmar’s military junta in September. In a statement released at the time, the regime said that on September 22, six men and three women from the Sadaung Moe Kyoe group, 23 men and three women from another group operating near Sadaung, and three female family members, surrendered at Sadaung Police Station with 13 weapons. The surrender prompted discontent among local resistance supporters. The person close to the Sadaung Moe Kyoe PDF said the remaining members feared for their lives after their leader was killed and decided to surrender their weapons to the NUG. “They surrendered their weapons and stopped completely,” the person said. “They said they would no longer participate in the revolution.” The person also alleged that some armed resistance members wanted to prevent the Sadaung Moe Kyoe group from continuing to operate. The allegations could not be independently verified. The group had operated as a local resistance force outside the NUG’s formal command structure, although its members had previously served with other resistance forces. During Operation 1027, an offensive launched by ethnic armed groups in October 2023, 18 Sadaung Moe Kyoe fighters took part in battles in Madaya, Thabeikkyin, and Pyin Oo Lwin in neighbouring Mandalay Region. One fighter was killed, according to information provided by the source. The source said threats from some resistance groups also raised concerns about the safety of Moe Kyoe’s widow, their two children, and the group’s surviving members, including during funeral preparations. Some local resistance forces described Moe Kyoe as a committed participant in the anti-junta revolution since the military coup and said he had led military operations around the Sadaung area. The controversy surrounding the group’s September surrender followed an incident in which individuals captured a police officer and seized a Starlink satellite internet communications device on the outskirts of Sadaung town. They then contacted the police station chief and demanded 1 million kyat or ammunition as ransom, according to information provided in the account of the incident. Video footage later circulated on social media. NUG authorities in the region were preparing to take action over the incident when the individuals surrendered to the junta, according to the account. A Sagaing-based PDF official said armed groups involved in the anti-junta revolution should not settle disputes through violence and should instead follow legal procedures. “Resolving matters through the law requires applying it correctly,” the official said, calling for the NUG to establish a more effective and systematic process for investigating offences and imposing penalties. The official added that efforts should be made to prevent conflicts among armed resistance groups. The junta maintains territorial control in Sadaung Township, with a force of around 300 troops active in the area, according to resistance sources. Myanmar Now contacted NUG Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Kyaw Ni during the first week of October to ask about Moe Kyoe’s killing and the deaths of two resistance fighters from Wetlet Township. No response had been received at the time of reporting.

Sagaing resistance group surrenders weapons to NUG, dissolves after leader’s killing

The Sadaung Moe Kyoe PDF, a group operating outside the NUG’s command structure, cited safety concerns in its decision to disband

Subscribe for full access

Myanmar charity worker who built a lifeline for the poor loses it all after military coup

Fear grips Mandalay as junta-backed militias and kidnappers prey on residents

For Myanmar migrants in Thailand, hope is a 100-baht lottery ticket

‘Will it be different this time, Grandson?’

Subscribe for full access

Related Articles

At least two killed in blast in Myanmar’s Rakhine state capital

Nighttime junta airstrike kills 2 and injures 6 in Pauktaw Township

Suu Kyi speaks to son for first time in more than five years

Six women killed by Myanmar junta airstrike in Budalin