NAYPYITAW, 18 August 2021, (TON): Around 1,500 soldiers have now defected from the Myanmar military to join the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) against the junta, a former Tatmadaw captain who is helping fellow deserters told media.

The new figures from Lin Htet Aung, who abandoned his post at the 528th Light Infantry Battalion in eastern Shan State in April, indicate that soldiers are now defecting faster and in greater numbers than before.

The number of deserters has almost doubled in a little over two months. In early June, four months after the military seized power, around 800 soldiers had defected. 

Among the defectors, about 1,000 hold ranks ranging from private to sergeant while hundreds more are majors, Lin Htet Aung told Myanmar Now.

He said “most have arrived in areas controlled by rebel groups but have yet to fully earn the trust of others involved in the movement against the junta.”

“We’re still in the process of monitoring and assessing them, so we can’t go on the offensive now,” he added, referring to plans for defected soldiers to wage war against the junta.