Junta conscript defects to AA in Kyaukphyu

By Admin 08 Aug 2025

DMG Newsroom

8 August 2025, Kyaukphyu

The Arakan Army (AA) announced on Thursday that a junta soldier who was forcibly conscripted by the military regime in Yangon had fled the Kyaukphyu frontline and defected.

Ko Maung Maung Win, the junta conscript-turned-defector, is originally from Diparyone Village in Ponnagyun and reportedly lived in Yangon Region's Mingalardon Township when he was conscripted.

Ko Maung Maung Win said that on March 5, 2025, while returning from work, he was stopped by the junta-appointed ward administrator and his associates, accusing them of stealing a motorcycle.

"They beat me and asked me if I wanted to go to prison or join the army. When I said I wanted to go to prison, they beat me even harder. When I got sick, I said I wanted to join the army, so they stopped beating me," he said.

Ko Maung Maung Win was sent to a military training school in Yangon Region's Hmawbi Township on March 13, where he underwent two months of military training in batch No. 11, and then, along with 13 conscripts, attended a week of training at the military's Light Infantry Battalion No. 216 under Light Infantry Division No. 11 in Yemon.

Ko Maung Maung Win was then transported to Kyaukphyu via Thilawa Port, where he attended three more weeks of refresher training representing the Kyaukphyu Police Battalion, before being sent to the Kyaukphyu frontline, where he was able to flee the ranks and defect.

"Don't worry, dad and mum. I am at peace. I have defected to the Arakan Army. I have decided to defect to the Arakan Army and continue fighting for the country and the people," said Ko Maung Maung Win.

Ko Maung Maung Win also urged other conscripts under the military regime to join the revolutionary forces.

Fighting is ongoing between the junta and the AA in Kyaukphyu Township, with the former reinforcing its military positions via sea.

Following a string of military defeats, Myanmar's military regime activated the Conscription Law on February 10, 2024, forcibly recruiting civilians and sending them to the frontlines. Military analysts have noted that a larger proportion of conscripts were dispatched to the Arakan front.