Arakan Army Rejects Junta’s Claims of Mass Surrender in Ayeyarwady

Burma News International (BNI) is a network of 15 independent media and news organizations based in and around Burma The Arakan Army (AA) has rejected claims by the Myanmar military that 20 AA fighters and 12 People’s Defense Force (PDF) members surrendered to junta forces in Pathein, Ayeyarwady Region. AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha dismissed the military’s statement—which claimed the defectors handed over 13 weapons to the Southwestern Regional Military Command—as "completely false propaganda." “The regime has repeatedly made such shameless and false claims,” Khaing Thukha told Narinjara News. He added that junta forces in Ayeyarwady Region have been detaining young Rakhine travelers fleeing war zones, forcing them to pose as surrendered AA fighters for staged media events. Local military-aligned sources and the Pathein Urban Guerrilla Group supported the AA's assertion, noting that individuals featured in these public ceremonies are often army personnel's family members or detained civilians rather than captured revolutionary troops. According to local reports, Brigadier General Aung Kyaw Khine, the newly appointed commander of the Southwestern Command, organized staged events on May 11 and July 29 to fabricate victories and protect his position amid growing pressure from the military leadership. In contrast to the junta's claims, Khaing Thukha stated that regime forces are suffering from collapsing morale, with scores of junta soldiers abandoning their posts or surrendering to opposition forces across active battlefronts.