Senior resistance official missing, feared captured by Myanmar military

An official of the National Unity Government (NUG) charged with coordinating essential operations has gone missing and may have been detained by junta authorities, according to resistance sources. There had been no word from Kwan Min, who serves as permanent secretary in the NUG’s Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration, for more than a week as of December 7, a ministry source said. While Kwan Min generally kept a low public profile and his face was usually concealed in official photos, his colleagues said his operational role in the NUG was critical. He was also among the resistance members most wanted by the junta. Anti-junta forces based near the border between Sagaing Region and northern Shan State said he may have been detained nearby, and a fellow NUG official confirmed that there were indications that the military might have intercepted him in Myanmar’s north and held him for interrogation. Replying to queries from Myanmar Now regarding Kwan Min’s whereabouts, the NUG’s home affairs ministry said there was no confirmation of his arrest but that an emergency investigation was underway and they were treating his status as a “serious security concern.” Prime Minister Mahn Win Khaing Than ordered all ministries to suspend Kwan Min’s duties and sever communications with him in a letter sent out last Tuesday. Kwan Min became a priority target for the military in November 2022, the month they arrested hip-hop artist and National League for Democracy lawmaker Phyo Zayar Thaw, whom they later executed. At the time, they accused Kwan Min of playing a key organisational role in Yangon’s underground resistance. Despite his modest public reputation, Kwan Min’s official role included essential duties such as the direction of rescue operations in NUG-controlled areas of Sagaing Region after the earthquake that struck central Myanmar in March of this year.

Senior resistance official missing, feared captured by Myanmar military

The permanent secretary for home affairs and immigration is among the Myanmar military regime’s most wanted for his participation in the resistance

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