Three members of the People’s Defence Force (PDF) captured by junta forces on Wednesday in Magway Region’s Pwintbyu Township have since died, an officer within the resistance said. 

More than 20 PDF members from the Thayet and Kamma township chapters were transporting weapons when a military unit of some 50 soldiers intercepted their truck on a bridge between Maezali and Sedaw villages in the early morning, around 20km southwest of Pwintbyu town. 

Nine of the men were killed in the attack, Pwintbyu PDF officer Kyar Gyi told Myanmar Now, although eight bodies were initially seen in video footage taken by junta forces following the incident and released by pro-military media. 

Eight PDF fighters killed in Magway while transporting weapons 

Three members of the group were captured alive and others managed to escape, according to local sources 

Three members of the group were captured alive and others managed to escape, according to local sources 

Kyar Gyi said that the truck’s driver, as well as two wounded PDF members, were also arrested and later killed, according to information they received on Wednesday evening. In the video clip, the guerrilla fighters were seen lying on the ground near the bodies, and the driver standing, shirtless, his hands tied behind his back. 

The PDF members succumbed to injuries sustained in the attack when they were denied medical treatment by their captors, the officer explained. The driver was allegedly beaten before being shot, the officer explained. 

“I heard that he tried to run when the military untied him and was ultimately shot dead,” Kyar Gyi said. 

He added that the Myanmar army troops had cremated the bodies of the resistance force members at the cemetery in Sedaw village, located less than one kilometer from the clash site at the bridge. 

Citing an undisclosed number of guerrilla fighters who had escaped the ambush and returned to a nearby PDF camp, Kyar Gyi said that the junta forces who stopped the vehicle initially asked the three people in the front seats to exit. The exchange of gunfire began after two of the troops attempted to check the truck’s cargo.

“Our men started shooting when the soldiers climbed into the truck. So many people died because there were explosive materials in the vehicle,” he said, noting that in the junta’s footage at least three of those killed in the ambush had been disfigured beyond recognition. 

A member of the Thayet PDF said that he was told by survivors of the clash that the explosive materials being transported by the members had detonated after the soldiers threw their own bomb at the car while haphazardly shooting at it. 

“Our men just couldn’t fight back. The military threw an explosive device at the car, which triggered a series of explosions, so they didn’t really have the time to fire back,” he explained.

He added that at the time of reporting, the soldiers were still searching for the escaped PDF members in the surrounding forests.

True to form, the prison authorities came down hard when Ko Agga and four others banded together to request that their rights be respected.

“They accused us of protesting, beat us, and sent us to solitary confinement,” he said.

It is not unusual for prisoners to die due to the extremely poor conditions inside Obo Prison, or as a result of their brutal treatment at the hands of prison authorities. 

“Some have lost their lives because they were denied medical treatment. In some cases, their families are not even informed of their death before they are buried,” said one lawyer who has represented inmates of the prison.

Another lawyer described a client who became so malnourished that he didn’t have the strength to appear in court.

“My client was starved while he was locked up in solitary confinement. For a long time, he couldn’t even attend his own court hearings. After he was finally released, I could see that he had lost a lot of weight and was in very poor health,” he said.

Sometimes the violence was more direct, and even more lethal. 

In June, at least two inmates of the prison were beaten to death with metal batons during a crackdown that also left at least 13 others injured, according to both lawyers. And a prisoner who was recently released reported a similar incident on August 8—the anniversary of the start of Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement—that resulted in at least one death.

Ready to return to the revolution

Ko Agga and his three comrades were released in late October, a few days before completing their sentences of one year and nine months for incitement. During his time behind bars, he experienced hellish conditions and inhuman treatment, both as a victim and as a witness.

“Detainees are starved, bound, and beaten during interrogation. Some youths and LGBT people are sexually assaulted. Some come out of the interrogation centre blind in one eye or unable to use one of their legs. Most inmates need therapy to heal their mental trauma,” he said.

Now staying in a safe location, Ko Agga is able to reflect on his ordeal and begin his own process of healing.

“I used to be very quick-tempered. But I was close to insanity when I came out of prison—quiet and stupefied. I couldn’t even picture my mother’ face when I was in prison,” he said.

But far from breaking his spirit, his time inside Obo Prison only strengthened his resolve to defeat the enemy of his generation—the regime that overthrew the country’s elected government on February 1, 2021.

“I was traumatised, but I pulled myself together for the sake of the revolution,” he said. “I’m not afraid to go back to prison. We have lost our rights, and must fight to win them back for future generations.”

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