Military council soldiers desert Mrauk U camp with weapons

Narinjara News, 18 January 2023

At least three military council soldiers deserted the (540) battalion based in  Mrauk  U, an ancient city of Arakan State, along with weapons, said a reliable source close to the armed forces.

“As I come to know, the soldiers took weapons and left their battalion last evening. The army authorities were desperately searching for them, but they could escape,” added the source.

Names and positions of those soldiers are yet to declared. Now the army personnel continue their search operations in various locations of Mrauk U city.

“The security personnel are also searching in the cars on the move. The soldiers from Linmwe Taung mountain outpost (located between Kyauk Taw and  Mrauk   U) have gone down to the highway to check the vehicles,” said a local resident.

Earlier, sergeant major Kyaw Thant Sain from the (378) battalion based in  Mrauk   U ran away following an argument with other army officers, a source quoting his wife revealed.

"It should be 13 or 14 January (I can't remember the exact date). Kyaw Thant Sain’s wife said that he ran away after arguing with some officers,” it added.

Narinjara News tried to contact the Rakhine State security and border affairs minister colonel Kyaw Thura to authenticate the matter, but he did not respond.

Even though there is an informal ceasefire between the military council and Arakan Army in Rakhine, it has not kept the morale of the army intact. Many officers are reportedly facing repressions from the seniors and they get frustrated, said an individual close the military
authority.

AA spokesman U Khaing Thukha asserted that a good number of military council soldiers had fled their camps to join the AA. He claimed that there are over a hundred such deserters in the AA camp.