Lu Htet Naing, Narinjara News, 14 January 2025 

The Ministry of Defense of the National Unity Government (NUG) declared on January 13 that 29 military and police officials defected in the initial two weeks of January. 

As per the statement, the defectors have allied with the battalions of the People's Defense Force (PDF), which function under the direction of the NUG’s Ministry of Defense. 

On January 2, a member of the police from Saw Township Police Station deserted to Gangaw District Battalion-2, taking with him a G-3 rifle, 50 rounds of 7.62 caliber ammo, and 2 magazine cartridges. 

On January 6, five junta troops defected to Gangaw Township Battalion (3, 5) after departing from Saw Township Police Station towards Laung Shay Sub-Township Police Station. They carried an MA-1 rifle, an MA-3 rifle, 432 MA rounds, 3 grenades, and 9 MA magazines. 

On the morning of January 7, sixteen soldiers from the Lagoon Pyo camp in Bilin Township switched sides to join the resistance joint forces. The authorities confiscated from them an 80mm, a 60mm, a machine gun, a sniper rifle, seven MA-1 rifles, one MA-2 rifle, one MA-3 rifle, and one MA-4 rifle. 

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On January 9, an officer from the Saw Township police station in Gangaw District, Magway Region, deserted to Gangaw District Battalion-3, taking with him a G-3 rifle, 349 rounds of ammo, 4 grenades, and 2 ammo boxes. 

On that very day, two soldiers from the BPI Livestock camp located in Myit Chay Town, Pakokku Township, Pakokku District defected to Pakokku District Battalion-8. They carried two MA-1 rifles, one Energa grenade, two pineapple grenades, 166 MA rounds, five ammunition rounds, and 10 magazine cartridges. 

On January 10, two conscripts from the 13th Light Infantry Battalion, led by Captain Aye Myo Tun, temporarily based in Sheinmakar village, Wetlet Township, Sagaing Region, defected to Shwebo District Battalion-2, bringing two MA-1 rifles and 460 MA rounds of ammunition.

On January 11, two members of the junta force from the 559th Light Infantry Battalion, who had completed Batch-5 of the 12th Military Advanced Training Depot, defected to the 33rd Dawna Battalion in Military Region No. 3 of the Southern Military Region.

These two soldiers, who had been forcibly recruited, brought an MA-1 rifle, an MA-3 rifle, 175 rounds of ammunition, six boxes of ammunition, and one grenade.

The NUG Ministry of Defense reported that, in total, defectors surrendered 13 MA-1 rifles, 1 MA-2 rifle, 3 MA-3 rifles, 1 MA-4 rifle, 2 G-3 rifles, 29 MA ammunition boxes, 1 sniper rifle, 1 machine gun, 1 80mm, 1 60mm, 10 grenades, 574 rounds of 7.62 caliber ammunition, 1,058 MA rounds, 5 rounds of ammunition, and 1 Energa grenade.