Three Military Council soldiers in an area controlled by the 1st Brigade of the Karen National Union (KNU) decided to defect and join the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) in July, according to Padoh Saw Aye Naing, secretary of KNU Thaton District.

The three soldiers stationed at Peinhnetaw camp, a frontline base under the Junta’s No.8 Operation Command Centre, defected to the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the military wing of the KNU, and brought along two small arms, Padoh Saw Aye Naing told KIC.

"The three Junta soldiers defected to the 1st Brigade in July, with their ranks yet to be confirmed. Two of them carried weapons, and all belonged to No.8 Operation Command Centre.”

Frequent occurrences of Military Council troops joining CDM have been observed in Karen, Mon, and Karenni (Kayah) States, where ongoing conflicts continue to escalate.

Zaw Ye Chit, a former navy man who himself joined CDM, expressed his belief that the junta troops' decision to join CDM stemmed from two primary factors: the severe repression imposed by their superiors, and the significant loss of morale among their troops.

He told KIC, “ "It is important to note that some of them may not have truly intended to join CDM, but instead they disguised themselves as CDM members for intelligence purposes. But generally, I believe that most of the defectors to CDM are a result of demoralization within the Military Council. People already have a strong aversion towards them. Also the restrictions on soldiers' families, preventing them from leaving their military camps in the battalions, may push frontline soldiers to join CDM when they can't visit their loved ones”, he suggested.

Many soldiers who have now joined CDM, were typically stationed in the rear military camps, deserted and joined CDM when they were ordered to mobilize to the frontline battlefields by their superiors.

At present, there are daily clashes occurring between the Military Council and different resistance forces in various areas of Karen State and other regions throughout Myanmar.

KIC is currently in the process of determining the precise number of Military Council troops who have joined CDM.