Members of resistance forces, opposed to the 2021 military coup, operating in Mandalay Region’s Ngazun and Myingyan townships told DVB that a regime media report claiming that 506 individuals, including 453 men and 53 women, who surrendered in the “first-ever mass defection” from the People’s Defense Force (PDF) and were released from detention on Thursday is “propaganda.”
“They are spreading propaganda to demoralize us. But our morale is not affected, no matter how much they spread untruths,” a PDF leader in Mandalay’s Nganzun Township told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Ngazun and Myingyan are located 31-57 miles (50-91 km) southwest of the region’s capital and Myanmar’s second largest city, Mandalay.
Regime media reported on Wednesday that a “defection ceremony,” an event where members of resistance forces who have allegedly switched sides and surrendered to the military, was held for 506 individuals at the Central Regional Military Command (RMC) headquarters in Mandalay on March 19.
It added that the event was attended by the regime’s Mandalay Region Chief Minister Myo Aung and its Brigadier-General Aung Htay.
The 506 released from regime custody had reportedly surrendered 78 firearms, 38 grenades, 14 landmines, and 3,362 rounds of ammunition, along with communication devices and protective equipment.
The regime claimed that the individuals were all PDF members operating in Mandalay and Magway regions, and handed themselves over to the “legal fold” due to “internal abuse,” “forced recruitment,” and a “desire for peace.”
It did not specify on which dates the 506 individuals handed themselves over to regime forces occurred. But the regime also claimed that it has retaken control over all of Mandalay Region from resistance forces with the support of residents, and due to a “demoralized” resistance from the last five years of fighting since the 2021 coup.
Regime forces recaptured Singu in December, Madaya in November and Thabeikkyin in July. These three towns are located 27-124 miles (43–200 km) north and south of Mandalay.
A military counteroffensive recaptured Mandalay‘s Tagaung town from the PDF on March 10 after it was launched on Feb. 6. Tagaung, located in Thabeikkyin Township 131 miles (210 km) north of Mandalay, was seized by the PDF in August 2024.
Political analysts in Mandalay told DVB that Tagaung was the last piece of territory controlled by the PDF, under National Unity Government (NUG) administration, in Mandalay Region. It has been described as a “gateway” to PDF-controlled areas in neighbouring Sagaing Region.
Sagaing’s Tigyaing and Indaw townships are located 30 to 72 miles (48–115 km) north of Mandalay’s Tagaung. The military’s counteroffensive against the PDF is expected to intensify in Sagaing, according to political analysts and resistance groups.
Another PDF leader in Mandalay told DVB that the timing of the regime’s “announcement “defection ceremony” was calculated to “demoralize the public and resistance forces,” as it occurred as regime forces are regaining territorial control from the resistance in central Myanmar.
“The public needs to be careful not to be misled. This is a time when we must be cautious, both on the ground and online,” he added.
