The Indaw People’s Defence Force has reportedly apprehended three Burma Army (BA) deserters who robbed civilians of a motorbike and a phone while pretending to be members of the local resistance group in Ner Rakhaung in Indaw Township, Kachin State.
“We arrested them on the road. During interrogation, they stated that they wanted to turn themselves in but didn’t know how to contact us,” a PDF official told KNG.
The soldiers deserted from Infantry Battalion 301 in Katha in Sagaing Region on 1am on 10 September. The battalion’s column was recently staying at a Buddhist monastery in Na Bar, which is near Ner Rakhaung, where they committed the robbery. The officer said they detained them around noon on the road between Htigyaint and Kyaung Kon.
The men said they needed to steal the bike and phone because the villagers wouldn’t have given it to them if they’d asked. The stolen items were returned to the rightful owners and the deserters are still under investigation.
PDF units from Indaw and Htigyaint frequently monitor the road between Htigyaint and Indaw.
Fifteen police officers in Indaw Township have left their posts to join the Civil Disobedience Movement after the military coup.
Recently, 70 soldiers from the regime’s Light Infantry Battalion 301 entered Indaw town.
