Local People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) reported that over 100 villagers in Gangaw township, located in the Magway region, were arrested and subjected to interrogation by junta troops. This occurred after anti-junta militias successfully raided an arms depot and seized weapons, as stated in a report from Radio Free Asia (RFA).
The roundup began on Monday in Kant That village, where villagers had been armed and told to defend the depot by the junta forces. However, some of the villagers did not put up a fight when the combined PDFs attacked the depot, allowing the militias to seize a lot of guns and bullets.
According to a statement released on Thursday by the Yaw National Revolution Force, one of the groups participating in the raid, RFA news agency reported that they engaged in a 20-minute conflict with junta troops and a local militia known as Pyu Saw Htee soldiers, who support the military regime. The statement revealed that three members of the junta forces were killed during the battle, causing the remaining troops to flee their camp.
According to a PDF official, who requested anonymity for safety concerns as reported by Radio Free Asia (RFA), the defense forces successfully exploited the villagers’ unwillingness to fight for the junta. He mentioned that due to their breach of the security line, the entire village was detained and subject to interrogation. He further added that certain villagers, lacking any prior experience, fled without engaging in any gunfire.
RFA said it made a phone call to Than Swe Win, the junta spokesperson for Magway region, to get comment on the arrests but nobody answered.
The raid on the arms depot is one of the latest incidents of armed resistance against the military regime that seized power in a coup on Feb. 1, 2023, ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have taken part in protests and civil disobedience campaigns across the country, demanding the restoration of democracy and the release of political prisoners. The junta has responded with brutal crackdowns, killing more than 1,000 civilians and arresting over 8,000.
