15 May 2026 By Foe Aww Yaw
KAWLIN, Myanmar — At least seven Myanmar junta soldiers have died and dozens more have been rushed to hospital after a desperate attempt to brew homemade alcohol using medical supplies and highly toxic agricultural chemicals went fatally wrong.
The mass poisoning occurred on the afternoon of 13 May in the town of Kawlin, Sagaing Region, where a garrison of ruling military troops has been stationed. Local sources revealed that soldiers attempted to turn medical-grade rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) into a drinkable beverage by mixing it with salt—a hazardous practice common among desperate addicts—but inadvertently contaminated the mixture with concentrated liquid pesticide.
The chemical cocktail proved immediately fatal for seven soldiers, who succumbed to severe toxicity before medical assistance could arrive.
“They were trying to use the rubbing alcohol and somehow mixed it up with strong pesticide bottles kept nearby,” a local source familiar with the incident told MPA. “Because Kawlin’s local hospital is non-operational due to the ongoing conflict, the survivors had to be evacuated to the town hospital in neighboring Wuntho. Many are still in critical condition.”
Hospital sources in Wuntho confirmed that several soldiers remain in intensive care with life-threatening internal organ damage, and the death toll is expected to rise.
Military observers and local resistance factions suggest the incident highlights a deep-seated crisis of morale and logistical failure within the junta’s frontline units. Troops cut off in remote garrisons across Sagaing Region frequently face acute shortages of food, clean water, and basic amenities, leaving them highly isolated and vulnerable to substance abuse.
Despite the loss of personnel, the remaining force of roughly 200 soldiers in Kawlin launched an expansive sweep through nearby villages the following evening, 14 May, in what locals describe as an aggressive show of force to deter potential guerrilla ambushes.
The military regime has not publicly commented on the poisonings. However, for a force already grappling with recruitment shortages and daily casualties on the battlefield, the self-inflicted tragedy in Kawlin serves as a stark metric of the psychological breakdown occurring inside the junta’s isolated outposts.
