23rd August 2021
The action taken by the PDF and the ethnic armies is beginning to take effect.
The junta have instructed all its troops to be combat ready as a direct result of increased ambushes and urban attacks.
The regime’s crackdown on its opponents is expected to intensify in the coming days as the military junta has issued an order to its unit commanders and other senior officers to be combat ready. The instruction comes amid an increase in daily unrest, including killings and bombings by anti-regime civilian fighters against regime troops and their associates throughout the country.
The order seen by The Irrawaddy was sent out to commanders last week. It was issued directly by the military’s top command in the capital, Naypyitaw.
The message to commanders also warned that terrorists “could intercept our message” and instructed that “jamming devices should be used.” The message added that troops should always remain in combat mode.
Following the coup in February, people from all walks of life opposed military rule. Young people have taken up arms after the junta’s brutal crackdowns on protesters. Since then, the regime has branded anyone who opposes it “terrorists.”
In the order, commanders were instructed to set up more checkpoints and to launch surprise checks in residential areas.
This month, bloody attacks against the regime have become more frequent across the country, including in the country’s business hub Yangon. Last week, among other attacks, four policemen were shot dead by unknown attackers on a train on Yangon’s Circular Railway, highlighting the bloody reality that civilian resistance against the junta has yet to wane, more than six months into the regime’s rule. In upper Myanmar, the regime admitted that aircraft at an airbase were damaged in attacks. The junta responded with more night raids and manhunts. This week, joint forces of police and military personnel arrested at least 15 young people in Yangon, looting goods and valuables from homes as they did so.
The regime is concerned about coordinated attacks in the countryside and urban areas, informed analysts and diplomats in Yangon said. Residents of Yangon said they have seen more security personnel on the streets recently, with many plainclothes soldiers and police deployed in buildings and on busy streets.
In the countryside the military’s security forces also engage in frequent clashes with PDF members and ethnic forces.
Source The Irrawaddy August 21st, 2021.
It is clear that the troops are getting nervous. There is a slowly increasing level of defections from the Army to rebel groups.
Around 2,000 soldiers and police have joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) since the Myanmar military’s February 1 coup, according to People’s Embrace, a group helping security forces personnel who are refusing to work for the regime.
Most of the soldiers who have joined the CDM are privates and sergeants. Officers ranking from lieutenants to majors account for around 100.
“There are around 1,500 military personnel who have joined the CDM. There are over 2,000 including police,” Captain Lin Htet Aung of People’s Embrace told The Irrawaddy.
People’s Embrace was formed by military personnel who have joined the CDM. In cooperation with the parallel National Unity Government (NUG), the group provides assistance to striking soldiers, as well as trying to persuade other military personnel to leave their barracks.
Captain Lin Htet Aung graduated from the 54th Intake of the Defence Services Academy. He joined the CDM in early April, while serving as a company commander in Battalion 528 in eastern Shan State.
The 2,000 soldiers who have joined the CDM amount to the size of four standard battalions in the Myanmar military, noted Captain Lin Htet Aung. The figure is based on the number of people who have contacted People’s Embrace and those who have fled to areas controlled by ethnic armed organizations (EAO’s), as well as from data provided by sources inside the regime.
Security forces personnel who have left the military to stand by the people have done so because they have become more aware of the true colors of the military regime, which has been using lethal violence against civilians.
Most of the striking soldiers and police have either fled to areas controlled by EAO’s or are hiding among civilians and doing what they can to fight the regime.
“Some are providing military training to civilian resistance fighters. Some are fighting themselves. Some share information [with resistance fighters] if they can do nothing else due to security concerns,” said the Captain.
Many soldiers joined the CDM in the third week of August, with more expected to join as the regime continues to use violence against the people, striking military officers said.
On August 19, a number of soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion 25 in Dawei, Tanintharyi Region deserted with their weapons to join the CDM. The following day, a police sergeant from Yinmarbin Township in Sagaing Region also deserted with his weapon.
People’s Soldiers, a Facebook page run by striking military personnel, said 500 more soldiers are expected to join the CDM over the next month, on the condition that the NUG provides security and establishes a mechanism that enables the NUG to verify the identities of the soldiers wanting to join the CDM.
People’s Embrace, in collaboration with the NUG’s Defense Ministry, has already certified the first 100 military personnel to join the CDM and is in the process of certifying 100 more.
Source The Irrawaddy August 23rd, 2021.
Obviously, it is far from being a flood of defections, but it is a constant drip, drip, drip that is slowly getting stronger.
In news today that the Burmese will not like is the announcement of the visit to Thailand by Kamala Harris, the vice president of the USA. I dread to think what will result from her meetings with Thailand and other Southeast Asia nations. Whatever the result you can be sure that China will pick it apart and find a way to take advantage of it.
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