Myanmar Military Accused of War Crime Amid Chilling Drone Footage

The Myanmar military has been accused of executing captured resistance fighters during raids and arson attacks on villages in Chauk Township, Magwe Region last Friday.

A group of 20 People’s Defense Force (PDF) members were shot dead after being trapped in a regime counterattack near Taungtha village, according to pro-regime telegram channels and resistance sources. The PDF group had been waiting to ambush a military unit that was burning villages in the township, a front-line resistance source told The Irrawaddy.

Pro-military channels posted video and photos of the dead along with their weapons, reporting they had been killed by regime police commandos. However, aerial drone footage purportedly showing resistance fighters being trapped reveals that some were captured alive. In the video, a regime soldier—believed to be a commander monitoring the incident by scout drone—can be heard ordering ground troops to kill all the PDF fighters.

The attack was backed by regime air and drone strikes that forced 1,500 residents from five nearby villages to flee their homes, according to local media reports. The dead fighters were members of Magwe District PDF Battalions Nos. 1 and 3.

On Sunday, the commander of No. 3 Battalion reported on Facebook that some of his comrades were shot dead after being captured alive. Commander Ko R Gyi stated that all the men had sacrifice their lives for the revolution, refusing to surrender until they ran out of ammunition.

“This incident exposed the brutal nature of our enemy,” he wrote on Facebook. “We must not lose morale but instead stay united and uphold the revolution in honor of our fallen comrades.”

The Irrawaddy reached out to the commanders of the PDF battalions on Monday but has yet to receive a response.

Regime forces began raiding and torching villages in Chauk Township on June 23, forcing thousands of villagers to flee for shelter.

Last month, the Magwe PDF said its forces attacked regime troops on June 23, 26 and 27, killing 10 soldiers and seizing weapons and ammunition.

Local aid groups report that thousands of civilians displaced by the fighting in Magwe are in urgent need of food, medicine, and tents for shelter from monsoon downpours.