GANGRAW, Myanmar — Authorities in central Myanmar’s Magway Division are on high alert following the escape of three detainees, including two prisoners of war (POWs), from a forest jail managed by the National Unity Government (NUG).
The escape occurred on the afternoon of May 7, 2026, at a facility under the jurisdiction of the NUG’s Ministry of Defence (MOD). The escapees have been identified as two military personnel captured during the 2023 seizure of the Min Ywa police station, and a third individual being held on murder charges related to a separate incident in Shwe Bo village.
Local resistance monitoring group Yaw Alin Tan reported that the men, aged between 27 and 30, managed to slip away quietly without causing harm to guards or seizing any weaponry.
“They didn’t take any arms or ammunition,” a spokesperson for Yaw Alin Tan told MPA. “We believe they are heading toward the military’s Light Infantry Battalion 50. Search operations are currently underway, but they remain at large.”
The escape has triggered significant anxiety among the civilian population in Gangaw. In previous instances, the escape of high-value military detainees from resistance custody has been followed by targeted airstrikes by the sham government’s air force, likely acting on intelligence provided by the escapees.
“We are warning the public to prepare for potential air raids,” the spokesperson added. “Last April, when a POW escaped from a local defense unit’s custody, the military launched a bombing raid on the area shortly after. We must be ready for a repeat of that scenario.”
The two escaped POWs were part of a group of 17 military personnel captured on November 3, 2023, when resistance forces successfully overran the strategic Min Ywa police station. Since then, the NUG has struggled to maintain secure detention facilities in remote jungle areas while adhering to international standards for the treatment of prisoners of war.
As the search continues, local defense teams have bolstered security at checkpoints, and villagers have been advised to remain close to bomb shelters. The incident underscores the fragile nature of security in the “liberated zones” of Myanmar’s rural heartlands, where the threat of air strikes remains the military’s most potent weapon against the opposition.
