1 Jan 2026 By Poe Sangle / MPA
As the conflict following Myanmar’s 2021 coup drags into its fifth year, resistance groups are facing a growing internal challenge: an increasing number of fighters going “AWOL” (Absent Without Leave) or deserting their posts.
Sources close to the People’s Defense Forces (PDF) tell MPA that a combination of financial hardship, family pressure, and disillusionment with local leadership is driving the trend.
While the resistance movement began with a surge of volunteers from all walks of life, the grinding reality of a prolonged war of attrition is taking its toll.
They didn’t join because they were forced; they joined of their own free will. If they want to leave, they should do so through proper channels,” said a logistics officer based in Pale Township.
“However, for some, the commitment was like a ‘straw fire’—burning bright at the start but fading quickly when the excitement wore off and the hardship set in.”
Beyond the physical and economic exhaustion, internal politics are also playing a role. Sources on the ground report cases of corruption and abuse of power by some local commanders, describing them as “mini-dictators” emerging within the pro-democracy movement.
“It’s not just about families struggling to eat,” said a source close to the armed groups. “Some leaders are exploiting the revolution. We see cases where soldiers are ordered to do domestic work for a commander’s wife. The locals see this, and it damages morale.”
Acknowledging the issue, several “mother units” and regional commands have issued recall notices urging absent fighters to return to duty.
“There are still many comrades standing together through thick and thin,” said one PDF member. “But conditions are getting harder year by year. New recruitment is becoming difficult, so units need to find ways to manage and retain the fighters they already have.”
The military junta has been quick to exploit these cracks in cohesion. On 23 January, the junta’s Central Command claimed to have processed the surrender of 149 PDF members from Mandalay and Magway regions, returning them to their parents and providing cash rewards for weapons.
While state media frequently publicizes such “defections,” the public remains deeply skeptical, with many dismissing the reports as staged psychological warfare intended to demoralize the resistance.
