NAYPYITAW, 03 November 2021, (TON): Myanmar’s military junta appears to be losing its grip over Yangon Region’s Kayan Township, as local administrators continue to resign en masse over threats from anti-regime forces.

The township, which is located just east of the country’s largest city, has seen a wave of resignations since early October, when the local People’s Defence Force (PDF) gave junta-appointed administrators 15 days to quit before they faced reprisals.

In an interview with Myanmar Now, the leader of PDF-Kayan said that virtually every ward and village administrator in the township had quit by the deadline.

According to the Kayan Channel, a Facebook page created to track developments in the township, some 60 administrators have quit so far, roughly half of them citing death threats as their reason for leaving.

Kayan Township has 13 urban wards and 53 village tracts, each of which has an administrator responsible for enforcing household registration rules and other regulations used by the junta to maintain control over local populations.

While the shadow National Unity Government (NUG) has said that it does not condone attacks on civilians serving in administrative positions, it warned that “legal action” would be taken against regime collaborators once civilian rule has been re-established.