Two soldiers from a battalion based in southern Shan State have deserted to “stand with the people” because they say they can no longer stand the military regime’s oppression.

The Pyi Thu Pann Taing group announced on 9 February that two soldiers who had deserted on 29 January had reached a safe place with their group’s help.

"We can no longer live under the military regime. In the past, we had been thinking of various ways to desert and stand with the people. Now that the situation has given way, we have tried to escape,” said one of the soldiers.

Just as the military junta is terrorizing and killing unarmed civilians, it is also oppressing and subjugating those who work for the junta.

“Now soldiers in the lower ranks are not allowed to go anywhere. We are not allowed to return to our parents’ houses. Salaries are also deposited straight into bank accounts and the soldiers cannot access them because it is forbidden to withdraw money from bank accounts. Our battalion is stationed in Shan State. Our superiors don’t tell us what to do or where to go,” said one of the two deserters.

He said that more soldiers from lower ranks are about to desert from their battalions because of the way they are oppressed.

The Pyi Thu Pann Taing group led by former members of the People's Soldiers group, which assists soldiers, has been transformed into a civil society organisation.