Police officer from Taungup defects to AA with family members

A police lance corporal from Taungup township of Rakhine State, defected to the Arakan Army (AA) along with his family members. Unwilling to serve the military junta, the police officer also carried arms and ammunition with him.

A Taungup resident identified him as Kyaw Htay, originally hailing from Kyauktaw township, who took his wife and 15-year-old son on Sunday to leave the government forces.

"I believe around six people defected. They took weapons and their families to join the AA. Many individuals now do not want to serve the junta. So the number of defections is on the rise," added the resident.

Many high-ranking police officers have minimal trust in their forces. Many seniors instructed their juniors not to leave their posts without information. Now the security in police stations has been tightened.

"Nowadays, the police personnel rarely leave their posts. Otherwise they come with additional armed personnel," stated the resident.

Taungup, a prominent district-level town, is home to the 5th military operations command (MOC-5) and also the 346th & 544th light infantry battalions.

The residents informed that the soldiers stationed at Kaing Shay bridge of  Taungup locality, start inspecting passing all passengers on the road. Often they are collecting money and also confiscating goods from the vehicles.

The AA issued a warning stating that if the conflict erupts in Taungup, the junta forces may resort to airstrikes on the villages. So they advised the residents to remain prepared for such incidents.

Currently, 40 percent of Taungup population have fled pre-empting conflicts.

Earlier on 27 January, 12 soldiers stationed at their assigned checkpoints in Taungup locality fled and surrendered to the AA.