'I burned entire villages': Myanmar military captain
We interviewed a captured soldier in Chin State.
On December 16, 2023, Myanmar military captain Nay Myo Kyaw, 33, was deployed near Falam town in western Myanmar’s Chin State. He led a unit of airborne reinforcements – mostly new conscripts – ordered to support Infantry Battalion 268, which held the junta’s last base in Falam township.
The base was surrounded by resistance forces.
Nay Myo Kyaw and his unit never met their objective. They were quickly captured after clashes with opposition fighters.
We interviewed the captain with permission from his captors – a resistance group – under the condition that we withhold identifying details for security reasons until Falam was captured.
He attended the Defense Services Academy (DSA), a key military training ground, and had served for 13 years, he told us.
The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. I asked the questions, which he answered in Burmese, with translation provided by my colleague, Salai Johnny.
Throughout the interview, Nay Myo Kyaw refers to the Myanmar military as the “Tatmadaw,” a name the military uses for itself but one that has fallen out of favor since the coup, as many believe its meaning, “royal armed forces”, does not reflect the institution.
He also references the “SAC” – the State Administration Council, as the junta calls itself.
When reading his responses, bear in mind the military’s history of brutal torture as standard practice has been extensively documented over decades.
During our interview, the captain was neither handcuffed nor shackled, though guards remained at the room’s entrance, and a resistance commander was present throughout. He appeared to be in good physical condition – healthy and fed.
Tell me in detail about your capture.
I’m from Infantry Battalion 89 in Kale [Sagaing Region]. Our orders were to reinforce Infantry Battalion 268.
We were dropped off by helicopter and told to make it to the base. Two helicopters making two drops. I was in the second batch.
The first batch secured the [drop] site. When we dropped the second, the first group moved forward, and then we joined together and headed toward the base.
The first battle took place at number two school [the abandoned No. 2 Basic Education High School].
First, we were based in the school, and then we moved forward to another point. In that first attempt, we were forced to withdraw back to the school, where we built a defense.
There were small clashes around 2am. We decided to withdraw again; there were clashes all the way. Then, around 2pm the next day, we slowly retreated.
I wasn’t sure of the exact place, but there were a lot of banana trees. We stayed there for the night. The next day we had more clashes near a stream. Some [junta troops] died, others ran in all directions. That’s where I was captured.
There was about 17 in my group. Only two of us were real soldiers; the rest were conscripts. They were very scared.
I could control them the first day. I could control the situation. The next day, we heard the resistance voices calling us to surrender. Some were afraid of surrendering because they thought they’d be killed.
I urged them to surrender. I told them I’d protect them, and not to worry. Then I surrendered.
What’s happened to you since you were captured?
[After I was captured] I slept at the frontline for the first night. The next day they moved me to [a resistance command center] and kept me there for four days, and then transferred me here.
Does the Myanmar military torture prisoners?
If we capture someone, we usually keep them at our base. And if we need to carry out inquiries, we will take them to the commanding office in Kale.