1. Summary of the report

This report presents how the military junta in Myanmar, since the coup in February 2021, has been systematically using its proxy militia groups including the ruthless Pyu Saw Htee rural militant group to terrorize its opponents.

This report also explains how the military took the lead in establishing the Pyu Saw Htee group and how it supports the group financially and militarily. This report also provides details on the atrocities committed by the Pyu Saw Htee group on innocent people. Pyu Saw Htee group has been mainly used to suppress the pro-democracy groups opposing the junta and it is supporting the Myanmar military to commit war crimes against the civilian population in Myanmar.

The report also presents how Pyu Saw Htee groups in various parts of the country have been established under the sponsorship and support of the remnants of the ultra-nationalist group the Association for Protection of Race and Religion (Ma Ba Tha in Burmese acronym). This report was drafted in 2023 and it highlighted how Pyu Saw Htee and the groups with a similar motive have emerged over the past more than one year since the military coup.

2. Introduction

This report studies the operations of pro-junta militia groups including Pyu Saw Htee, which is a main supporter of the junta. The information provided in this report is based on the relevant reports published by 15 media organisations from 2021 March to 2024 September.

The information collected through daily monitoring of media reports on the operations of Pyu Saw Htee in Sagaing, Mandalay, Bago, Yangon, and Tanintharyi regions is also included. This report also includes testimonies from the local communities in the regions where the militant groups are operating.

The information collected was triangulated by using modern research methodologies. This report provides credible evidence of atrocities committed by Pyu Saw Htee and the group’s attempt to lobby the communities to support the military junta.

3. The Background of Pyu Saw Htee Group

The Myanmar military exerts its role in national politics with the support of several proxy ethno-religious groups like a mainstream political party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), Ma Ba Tha, which was established during the height of Buddhist Muslim sectarian violence in Myanmar (2012-2015).

Their tactics have been to target the members of minority religions to stir up political instability. The government led by the National League for Democracy (NLD), which was in office from 2016 to 2021, has failed to understand these tactics and they tend to condone most of the attacks carried out by Ma Ba Tha against the members of the minority religions.

The Myanmar military has always stood with the USDP, which was first established as a civic movement in the early 1990s by the military junta which was in power at that time.

The military also lends its strong support to the ultra-nationalist groups despite their involvement in a series of attacks on the members of minority religions since 2012. After the latest military coup on 1 February 2021, the nationalist groups were transformed into the Pyu Saw Htee militant group.

The “Pyu Saw Htee” group was named after a king who reigned during the Bagan era (9-13 Century). King Pyu Saw Htee was renowned for his expertise in archery. In the past, there was a group with a similar name that existed. Pyu Saw Htee group which was established in 1955 was to serve as a militia group to support the Myanmar military. It was established at a meeting senior commanders of the Myanmar military held in Rangoon on 14 September 1955. The formal establishment of the group came a month later when the National Defence Council led by then Prime Minister U Nu endorsed the proposal from the military.

Even though the Pyu Saw Htee group was established under the auspices of Prime Minister U Nu, however, it was being used by his political opponents within the ruling party Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL) which is also known as the “Ti Myae” (stable) faction. Pyu Saw Htee quickly earned notoriety for its attacks on the political opponents of AFPFL. They took sides in the elections and were involved in violence and murder of opposition candidates standing in the elections.

Also, they use intimidation as a tool to oppress the opposition politicians. Among the famous political violence committed by Pyu Saw Htee were the killings of four people during elections held in Min Hla Township in Tharyarwaddy District as well as the murder of politicians in Taung Oh village in Myeik District and the killing of six people in Nga Zun Township in Ayeyarwady Region.

Pyu Saw Htee was dismantled in 1958 after an interim military regime led by General Ne Win was appointed. The group was reinstated by the regime led by Min Aung Hlaing in recent years and Pyu Saw Htee was tasked to attack the armed and unarmed groups that are opposing his military regime.

In the General elections of 2020, the USDP which was born out of the military, was roundly defeated. After the party’s defeat most of its supporters and the members of the ultra-nationalist group disappeared from their homes in Tharyarwaddy District in Bago Region.

A political activist in Tharyaraddy said their profile on the social media pages was changed to Pyu Saw Htee. “What they said was they will come back. When I carefully looked at their profiles, not only those who are in Tharyarwaddy but also in other parts of the country changed the profiles of their social media pages. It has raised a lot of suspensions. This incident happened just before the military coup,” he said, adding that the Myanmar military provided military training to Pyu Saw Htee members well before the military coup.

After the military coup, the supporters of the Myanmar military generals started to call themselves the members of Pyu Saw Htee. The group was established with the members of the USDP, civil servants, members of other political parties which support the military regime, as well as the members of war veterans and members of religious extremist groups who are part of Pyu Saw Htee.

The Myanmar military directly supervises the Pyu Saw Htee group. The township-level Pyu Saw Htee groups are supervised by the heads of the respective township Administration Departments. The headquarters of Pyu Saw Htee was secretly established in Mandalay on 5 March 2021.

At that time two chapters of Pyu Saw Htee existed; one in the upper Myanmar chapter which is based in Mandalay and another one in the lower Myanmar chapter which is based in Yangon. The branches of the group in the other parts of the country are directly supervised by the two main chapters in Yangon and Mandalay.

The logo of Pyu Saw Htee is used in the statements released by the group. The logo of Pyu Saw Htee includes the flag of Buddhists in the background and the photo of King Pyu Saw Htee in a circle. The words race and religion are printed on the logo.

A nationalist activist based in Yangon even though the Pyu Saw Htee group had been established across the country, before the military coup, however, its role was very limited in the earlier days of the coup. They were included only in the village-level administration.

The members of Pyu Saw Htee serve as the affiliates of the military, their role includes collecting the biodata and the addresses of the activists who oppose the military junta. The regime assigned Pyu Saw Htee three main tasks, they are i. communication, ii. military affairs and iii. fighting.

More specifically, their role has been to spy on the political activists opposing the junta, to call for social boycotts of those who support and lead anti-junta rallies across the country.

The Pyu Saw Htee group is placed under the strict control of its central authorities. The heads of the state administration. Only the head of the State and Region Pyu Saw Htee has access to the personal details of the heads of the township head of organisation. Only the heads of the township and the propaganda chiefs are allowed to interact with each other. There is also an instruction for Pyu Saw Htee members to penetrate the anti-regime organisations to be able to gather information.

If any Pyu Saw Htee members are arrested, any of the members doing so need to inform the headquarters of Pyu Saw Htee within six hours.

A local independent media Myanmar Now leaked a report by the junta-appointed chief minister of Sagaing Region, U Myat Kyaw. The report is on the activities of the people militia group and it was presented to a meeting of the chief ministers of the states and regions held in Nay Pyi Taw in February 2022.

Myanmar Now published the report on its website on 25 February 2022. It quoted U Myat Kyaw as saying that the junta has established 77 militia groups, and more than 2000 weapons were provided to the members of the militias. The chief minister said the militia groups are operating in all 37 townships in the region. He added that more than 80 militia groups which the local people called Pyu Saw Htee are operating, however, U Myat Kyaw admitted that the junta failed to control the region.

According to a secret order issued by the junta chief Min Aung Hlaing in August 2022, the junta is planning to mobilise the members of the Fire Brigade and Red Cross to confront the anti-regime activists. The order mentioned about establishment of a Public Security Force that includes the members of the police, war veterans, and militias as well as the members of the fire brigade and the Red Cross and the members of a social organization like the Young Men Buddhist Association (YMBA), of which Min Aung Hlaing is a patron.

The junta is using the members of the fire brigade to conduct searches on the public on the streets. The junta soldiers are asked to donate Kyat 1500 from their salaries every month to YMBA.

Min Aung Hlaing’s Confidential Order (Photo credit : Khit Thit Media)

Internationally the members of the Fire Brigade and Red Cross are only to work for rescue and other social works. However, in Myanmar, there have been precedents of the members of these two forces who were asked to engage in other tasks.

For example, in 2016, the members of these two forces were asked to join the parade marking Tatmadaw Day which falls on 27 March. In Kayin State, the retired members of the military were appointed as commanders of the Border Guard Force which are normally under the control of pro-junta ethnic militia groups.

The retired members of the military were appointed as commanders of the Border Guard Force (Photo credit : Khit Thit Media

The junta has been supporting the pro-nationalists to carry weapons, in a junta-organised media conference, a pro-nationalist Daw Swe Zin asked if the supporters of the Tatmadaw have the right to carry weapons for their self-defense, the spokesperson Zaw Min Tun said they have right to carry a weapon for their self-defense.

In another media briefing held on 27 April 2022 Zaw Min Tun said the junta is in support of establishing a public security system in the country.

He said the junta would provide all the necessary support to establish such a public security force. He said the new public security force will support the military and the police in maintaining community peace. In 2022, Pyu Saw Htee established its affiliate group Thway Thauk Apwe (blood thirsty group) which operates as a death squad.

It has always been the junta’s tactic to change the name of its operatives if such a group faces severe criticism over their roles. For example, in 2012, an anti-Muslim group that emerged in the same year with the name “969 Movement” was transformed into a more organised Ma Ba Tha led by the junta backed monks.

The latest tactic used by the junta to change the name of Pyu Saw Htee into Thway Thauk Apwe as the former gets a lot of criticism, a resident of Mandalay said.

Those who call themselves Thway Thauk also joined the training conducted by the Pyu Saw Htee. They are also members and supporters of the USDP.

It is also a tactic of the junta to create more chaos if they cannot control the country’s situation. They always tend to use different excuses to continue being involved in politics. The military always uses the insecurity of the public as an excuse for its continuing role in the leadership.

If their political authorities come under the threat the junta tried to create terrorist groups under its wings. It was evident the Myanmar military used such tactics in the past several times. Including during the 1988 mass public uprising, the 2003 Debayin Massacre, the 2007 Saffron Revolution, as well as during the religious riots that happened in 1996, 2001, 2012 and 2013. They created vigilante groups during these incidents to incite massacre and attacks on the members of the minority religions.

3.1. Threats and intimidations

The Pyu Saw Htee group has issued a series of statements saying that those who try to undermine the community’s peace and stability would be severely persecuted.

• On 2 July 2021, the group posted a list of the names of 99 supporters of the pro-democracy party the National League for Democracy (NLD) and anti-junta activists on the lamp poll in Shwe Bo Township in Sagaing Region.
• A similar act was done by Pyu Saw Htee in other major cities in the country. They include Mandalay and Kyaukse, where a list of 104 people it is targeting was announced. Also, in Dawei and Longlone townships in Tanintharyi Region where 107 people were announced in their hit list, 85 in Myinchan and 65 in Meiktila, 48 in Monewya, and 42 in Hommelin township.
• Two members of NLD were shot dead in Myinchan Township after the Pyu Saw Htee announced their names on its hit list. They were 55-year-old U Moe Hein, who is a schoolteacher and his wife Daw Su Su Hlaing. The couple previously served as the members of the township executive committee of NLD. Their bodies were not returned to the family, the junta informed them that they were cremated, but no investigation was conducted after the killing. The place where U Moe Hein and his wife were killed was in an area where the junta’s Light Infantry Division 15 is located as well as the District Administration Office and the Office station.
• In an incident in Pyi Gyi Mantai Township in Tanintharyi Region on 16 March 2021 a student was shot dead by a pro-junta militia group operating in the area.
• In a brazen killing of the junta’s opponent in Yangon, a local NLD party worker in Dagon South Satellite Township was shot dead by a group of assailants believed to be the members of the Pyu Saw Htee on 5 July 2021. U Kyaw Khin died in the attack and his wife sustained bullet wounds in her thigh. The junta troops took away U Khin Kyaw’s body and did not return to his family. Photo of the bullet used in the killing of U Kyaw Khin.
• The Pyu Saw Htee group sent a letter to a group of 33 businessmen in Bago Township on 7 July 2021. The letter includes threats to attack the businessmen for their support of the NLD party. The letter also said the Pyu Saw Htee would also attack the government employees who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) against the junta.
• 10 days later the Pyu Saw Htee members committed another murder of civilians in Myinchan Township. In the incident, a restaurant owner couple were gunned down. Ko Kaung Myat Thu and his wife, who were the owners of Bombay Restaurant, were shot dead while they were travelling on a motorbike. The family was survived by two young children.
• In another incident, the Pyu Saw Htee group abducted 5 civilians in a village in Min Kin Township in Sagaing Region. Among them, 26-year-old man Ko Hlaing Wai Oo was brutally murdered in front of the other abductees. The fate of the other abductees was unknown.
• On 23 September 2021, a junta’s informant Aung Ko Ko and his brother-in-law, who is a member of the air force killed Ko Pauk Kyi a resident of Sein Pan ward in Mandalay. The duo along with other armed people abducted Ko Pauk Kyi from his home. The body of the victim was found near Sein Pan ward on the morning of the next day. He was shot in the head and his throat silted. The picture of Ko Pauk Kyi’s body.
• On 23 October 2021, civilians in a village in Shwe Bo Township in the Sagaing Region were forced to flee after the junta troops in the village to conduct military training. First Pyu Saw Htee put pressure on the villagers of Ywa Thit to join the training, after which the villagers gave the names of 30 youths to join the training on 9 October. The villagers were ordered to pay Kyat 20000 from each household and cook food for 40 people daily during the training period.
• On 27 January 2022, The Pyu Saw Htee killed a local member of the NLD party U Kyaw Win, in Ye Phyu Township in the Tanintharyi Region.
• On 19 December 2022, a group of Pyu Saw Htee members led by their leader monk Wathawa raided Taung Ngotgyi village and gathered the villagers at the monastery. They forced one person per house to attend the Pyu Saw Hti training course and threatened to burn the village down if they did not participate.
• Two members of a local pro-democracy militia group the Yaw Defense Force (YDF) were captured, tortured, and burned alive by a junta affiliate militant group Pyu Saw Htee in a village in Gangaw Township, Magway Region on 7 November last year. The two members of YDF, Phoe Tay and Ko Thar Htaung, were tied with wires, dragged by a car, and burned alive in front of a hospital near Myauk Khin Yan village, where the two victims lived.

3.2. Oppression of Innocent Civilians by Pyu Saw Htee

Members of the Pyu Saw Htee group join the junta in committing atrocities against innocent civilian populations including those who took up arms in fighting against the junta. Some of the notable incidents in the recent past are –

1. A group of Pyu Saw Htee members burned down the high school in a village in Min Kin Township in Sagaing Region on 6 February. The incident took place in Kya Pin village. One of the members of Pyu Saw Htee who was later captured confessed that the group was involved in the arson attack on the school. A video in which a Pyu Saw Htee member Aung Dun confesses the attack released by a local resistance group, the People Defense Force Taung Dwin Region- Mingin.
2. In Myeik Township in Tanintharyi Region, local residents reported to the media on 13 August 2023, that the junta-appointed traffic police have paid Kyat 20 000 per day to the members of Pyu Saw Htee to arrest motorcyclists in civilian clothes.
3. The members of Pyu Saw Htee along with the junta-appointed local administrators are accused of involvement in the extortion of money from the local population in Myingyan Township, Mandalay Region in September 2023. Reports suggest that the members of communities are forced to pay Kyat 3000 each as funds for the militant Pyu Saw Htee group. In June same year the Pyu Saw Htee group had also collected Kyat 50,000 per household in Myingyan Township.
4. On September 14, 2023, over 20 Pyu Saw Htee members from Kan Gyi Kone village, Chaung-U Township, Sagaing Region, captured and killed a shepherd U Zaw The, and his attackers took his 140 sheep.
5. A group of about 10 armed men including Pyu Saw Htee members burned down 18 houses in Sitt Oe Kone village, Sint Ku Township, Mandalay Region. The perpetrators are from a nearby village Ywar Thar Yar. The group looted motorcycles, cows, and other items from the villagers after the attack.
6. A group of Pyu Saw Htee members shot dead four civilians and burned down houses, and a Christian church, in a raid on Htan Ta Bin village in Tamu Township, Sagaing Region, situated near the India-Myanmar border. The incidents took place on 3 and 4 December last year.
7. The bodies of four women were found in a village in Myingyan Township in Mandalay Region in January this year. The bodies were found in Thurein Bo village on 28 January a day after a group of the junta and its affiliated group Pyu Saw Htee raided the village. The bodies had gunshot wounds to the ears and knife wounds. The bodies of two women Ma Zin Mar Tin and Ma Ei May Ja showed signs of sexual assault, said a source who was involved in burying the bodies.
8. A monk was killed by members of a pro-junta militant group Pyu Saw Hee in a village in Gangaw Township, Magwe Region on 12 February this year. A 45-year-old monk U Pyinnya Wara from Hanthawaddy village in Gangaw Township was invited by the Pyu Saw Htee group to deliver a sermon in a nearby Myauk Khin Yan village. The monk’s dead body was sent back to his monastery the next morning.
9. The junta replaced the local administration teams across the country in February 2024, with the members of a pro-junta militant group Pyu Saw Htee as well as with war veterans, and members of the fire brigade. The new administration heads are reportedly committing more atrocities against the local communities.
10. Members of Muslim communities in Kanbalu Township in Sagaing Region are forced to join a pro-junta militant group Pyu Saw Htee in March 2024. An extremist monk Watharwa, who heads the Pyu Saw Htee group forced those Muslim families who refused to join the militant group to pay Kyat 20 000 per month.
11. A mentally retarded person was beaten to death by the members of a pro-junta militant group and local administrators in a village in Ye Phyu Township in Tanintharyi Region on 25 April. U Win Kyaw who was a resident of Thabut Chaung village in Ye Phyu Township was attacked without any apparent reason.
12. Six members of a pro junta militant group Pyu Saw Htee were killed in an attack on the group in Taungoo Township in Bago Region. They were killed in the “Ah Yeit” operation launched by a pro-democracy militia group Nga Pyay Ma Gurellia group. The group said they found a list of civilians to be conscripted and narcotics from one of the Pyu Saw Htee members Ko Law Shay, who was killed along with five other members of his organisation.
13. A member of a pro-junta militant group is using the photocopy of the banknote as real money after putting the seal of Pyu Saw Htee on the notes. The Pyu Saw Htee embers Kyaw Hsan Win from Myaing Township in Magwey Region started to use the fake money on 5 August 2024. He is the head of the administration of Kan Ni village in Myaing Township, which is a stronghold for the Pyu Saw Htee group. He confiscated the citizenship verification cards and household registration cards of all residents in Kan Ni village. The village has more than 500 households with 2000 population. In recent months additional 1200 people who fled their villages due to conflict in the region are taking refuge in Kan Ni village.

4. Support for Pyu Saw Htee

• A junta-sponsored group, the Kantablu District Planning Administration team donated more than Kyat 4 million to a monk Wathawa, who is the leading organiser of the paramilitary training, to buy food for the trainees. The monk is also a member of a now-defunct ultra-nationalist group Ma Ba Tha. The donation was made on 20 October 2022, and it was to buy food including rice, cooking oil, butter and salt, for 160 Pyu Saw Htee members.
• The funds included Kyat 1 657 400 to buy 4 types of basic food for 40 men in Kanphyu village Kantbalu Township. And Kyat 2 486 100 was provided to purchase monthly basic food items for 120 others Pyu Saw Htee members in Kantbalu and Taze townships. The funding was raised by Warthawa with the approval of the District Administration Department. The move was approved by the Sagaing Region government.
• U Warthawa and his associates are forcing civilians in Kanbalu and Taze townships to provide ration for Pyu Saw Htee members. The civilians in Seinna village, where 70 households live are asked to contribute Kyat 30 000 per household as well as 4 bushels of rice and 1 litre of cooking oil for Pyu Saw Htee. The household who refused to join the Pyu Saw Htee were forced to pay up to Kyat 7 million.
• The homes of the families who support the People Defence Force (PDF) and those who can not send trainees to Pyu Saw Htee were sealed off and sold out as funds for the group. Also, those who could not join the training were asked to pay fines.
• The killings of pro-democracy activists were carried out by extremist nationalist groups including Pyu Saw Htee. They are provided with security by former army officers who also provide them with money and arms, a resident of Yangon said. He said that the leading supporters for Pyu Saw Htee in Yangon are ex-military personnel, and they are living in Asoka Street, Tarmway Township. Similarly, there are similar supporters for Pyu Saw Htee who live in other parts of the city.

5. Groups similar to Pyu Saw Htee

There are also some other militant groups the junta is supporting which have similar functions and objectives, as the Pyu Saw Hti. These organisations also join the junta in clamping down on the pro-democracy activists.

5.1. Nagarapala group

The objective functions of the Nagarapala group are almost similar to those of the Pyu Saw Hti group. It is to support other pro-junta groups and to be involved in social boycotts for the groups and individuals opposing the junta. This group is also supporting the government employees who did not join the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) against the junta. In addition, the Nagarapala group keeps a watchful eye on any acts of the anti-junta activists and reports to the relevant authorities to take legal actions in retaliation for their anti-junta activities. The Nagarapala group is formed in Maubin Township of Ayeyarwaddy Region.

5.2. Patriotic Alliance

The Patriotic Alliance was formed in Myeik and Pulaw townships in Tanintharyi Region. The group declared the “Red Operation” on April 29th in Myeik and Pulaw townships on 1 May. The statement said it objected to a declaration by the anti-Junta activists to target the members of the Myanmar military and police as well as the members of war veteran organizations and a pro-junta group the Young Men Buddhist Association (YMBA) and their families. The alliance said they would instead target the red extremists referring to the members of the NLD as well as the People Defense Force (PDF) members and their families in the “Red Operation” to be conducted by the alliance. The statement was announced in Myeik by the leader of Pyu Saw Htee and one of its allies Let Ma Yunt (ones who were not scared to carry out) group.

It was reported that the Patriotic Alliance is responsible for issuing a fake statement that purportedly says the NLD will exterminate the members of the military police as well as war veterans and YMBA members in an operation called “Hunter Zeyar”.

5.3. Sun Ye or Red Kite Group

On 3 May 2022, an unidentified man was strangled to death on the side of Than Pintan Road between Tharay Gone Village and Nyun Village in Long Lone Township, Tanintharyi Region. The body bears a tag of a picture of a flying red kite.

It was the body of a member of the anti-junta protest committee in Daewi, Ko Min Lwin Oo. He was killed after he received a death threat for himself and his family members unless he stopped the protest movement.

In a similar incident, the bodies of Ko Myo and Ko Yan Pai Soe were found near the bridge of Wachung Village, Ye Phyu Township, Tanintharyi Region on 15 June. On the same day, the Sun Ye team searched the house of a local member of the NLD U Ngwe Kyi. The Sun Ye team destroyed the home with explosives after they did not find him.

The house of another NLD supporter in the area U Myo Thein was also raided by Su Ye Team, as they did not find him in the home, they tied his daughter inside the house.

In Longlong Township, in Tanintharyi Region, two civilians U Zaw Win and Daw Kheung, from Moung Makan Village, were arrested and shot dead by the Sun Ye group and the military police called (Sa Ya Pha in Myanmar acronym). The incident took place on 25 June 2022. The victims were accused of being linked to PDF groups. The tags bearing the logo of the Sun Ye group were left with the bodies of the two victims.

5.4  Thway Thauk Apwe death squad

Michael Kyaw Myint, the leader of the Grassroots Life Improvement Party, is the one who called for the formation of the Thway Thauk group. Michael Kyaw Myint often broadcasts live on his social network page and talks about politics, and he proposed the establishment of the Thway Thauk group in these broadcasts.

He called on the supporters of the military in Yangon, Mandalay Region, and Nay Pyi Taw, as well as Tanintharyi and Sagaing to contact him on his Viber video call account to register as the members of Thway Thauk group. In addition, those who want to work with the military to identify and arrest terrorists can also contact each other locally. He also stated that he would take responsibility for the living expenses of those who joined the Thaway Thauk group. The offer for support was withdrawn only days after it was announced.

The members of the Thway Thauk dead squad posted photos and the text of their leader Michel Kyaw Myint on social media. The leader of the Thway Thauk Group in Mandalay is Maung Kyaw Thuan, who is in charge of the Michael Kyaw Myint party for Mandalay Region. On behalf of Michael Kyaw Myint, Maung Kyaw Tun Thuan attended the opening ceremony of Michel Kyaw Myint’s political party office.

Maung Kyaw Thuan opened a Facebook account under the name of “Chief” and posted news about the activities of the Thway Thauk Apwe.

Another notable member of the Thway Thauk is U Chit Ko. He is a classmate of a senior military officer, Lieutenant General Moe Myint Tun, who is a close aide of the junta chief Min Aung Hlaing.

Many members of the NLD party were killed in Mandalay, and their bodies which bear the badge of the Thway Thauk group have been found.

In addition, the grandfather of a famous actor Hein Htet was shot dead by the Thway Thauk group in his home in Yangon’s Mingladon township. The killing followed after a post threatening the actor, who is a supporter of NLD, was posted. It said Thway Thauk group will start removing the feathers of birds in Yangon. The bird represents the peacock in the flag of the NLD party.

More than one year after the military coup the Thway Thauk group started to target civilians under its so-called “Red Offensive”. Their main targets are the members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the supporters of the party.

They also targeted the members of the People’s Defence Force (PDF) which was established after the coup. Thway Thauk group also target the media organisation. The group’s spokesperson for Mandalay Region is Maung Kyaw Htun Thein, a member of Michel Kyaw Myint’s party, the Irrawaddy news agency reported. Maung Kyaw Htun Thein used to post the news regarding the activities of the Thway Thauk group and the events in support of the military junta.

The stronghold of the Thway Thauk Group is Mandalay. Here are the series of killings carried out by the members of Thway Thauk dead squad.

• The group abducted the chair of the NLD party of Mandalay’s Aung Myay Tharzan Township U Tin as well as U Khin Maung Thein the owner of Sein Win Win tea shop in the same township and his wife Daw Kha on 24 April. U Khin Maung Thein is a staunch supporter of the NLD party. On the next day, the bodies of U Khin Maung Thein and Daw Kha were found in front of the NLD office in Mandalay’s Chan Aye Tharzan Township. Their injured bodies bear the tags of the Tway Thauk Group. Similarly, the body of U Tin was found with the Tway Thauk logo in front of a housing on 19th Street of Mandalay.
• A Myanmar actor Hein Latt participated in the anti-junta protest after the military coup. He previously acted on the government owned MRTV4. Hein Latt was arrested for his political activism. After his release, the grandfather of Hein Latt was gunned down by Tway Thauk Group at his  home in Mandalay.
• An owner of the toddy palm shop in Singgaing Township in Mandalay Region was also killed by the Thway Thauk Group.
• The group is also responsible for the killing of a member of the local administration in Khu Lei village in Singgaing Township. Thway Thauk group said it has carried out these killings. The incident took place on 29 April. The local administration head of Khu Lei village U Swe was shot by the Thway Thauk group as he entered a home in the village to check the family household list. Tway Tauk group declared in a Facebook post that it killed U Swe.
• Thway Thauk group also conducted a similar assassination attempt in Ma U Bin Township in Ayeyarwady Region. A civilian U Zaw Win Myint who is a resident of No 9 Ward in Ma U Bin was attacked in his home by a group of four people who arrived at his home on two motorbikes. U Zaw Win Myint was asked to open the door of his home by the four people to check the family household registration. They shot at U Zaw Myint as he opened the door, the bullet struck his arms. After the attack, a letter of warning was posted on U Zaw Win Myint’s home by the Thway Thauk group.
• A similar threat letter was also posted in front of the home of a local MP of Ma U Bin Daw Ei Ei Pyone. The letter said the Thway Tauk group would kill Daw Ei Ei Pyone and her family.

• Thway Thauk group is tired of burning down the home of the MP of the regional parliament representing Ma U Bin U Zaw Moe. The fire was extinguished in time, so there was no significant damage to his home.
• In Mandalay, a party worker of NLD U Zaw Gyi was killed by the Thway Thauk group on 2 May 2022. He was stabbed to death and a tag of Thway Tauk group was found on his body.
• On 15 May 2022, the Thway Thauk group abducted and killed two businessmen in Kyauk Se Township in Mandalay Region. U Tin Thein, the owner of Shwe Kyauk Se Teashop and U Tin Thein, the owner of Kyoe Kyar Ni tea shop were abducted by a group of people wearing civilian uniforms and holding arms. They were later killed, and their bodies were thrown on the old Yangon Mandalay highway. The tag of the Thway Thauk group was seen on their bodies. Thway Tauk group said on its social media Telegram channel that it was responsible for the killings.
• There were two bodies found near Mandalay’s Tada U Airport. The bodies were found with their hands tied in the back. Thway Tauk group claimed responsibility for killing the two men. A Facebook page of the Thway Tauk group claimed that the victims were the members of the People Defence Force.
• A supporter of NLD in Aung Myay Tharzan Township in Mandalay on 26 May 2022. Ko Linn Ko Naing was arrested by the Thway Tauk Group from his home. The body of Ko Linn Ko Naing was found the next day on 54th Street. Three gunshot wounds were found on his body.
• On 8 July 2022, the body of a student was found in front of a school in Mahar Aung Myay Ward. The body of the student was wearing the tag of the Thway Tauk group.

In another incident on 11 September 2022, the bodies of three men who were in their 30s were found on the Sagaing Mandalay Highway. Their throats were silted and the bodies were wearing the tag of Thway Thauk.

There were also several incidents of killings in Nathoe Gyi Township in Mandalay Region which were carried out by Thway Thauk group. In the first incident on 3 October, the bodies of five civilians who were arrested by the men in military uniform were found. Their bodies were wearing the tags of the Thway Thauk group. The tags say that the killings were carried out by the Thway Thauk group based in Kyaukse Township in the Mandalay Region. The throats of the five bodies were found silted. The dead civilians were U Kyaw San,55, U Hla Soe, 56, U Thein Lwin, 47, U Kyaw Min 42 and U Zin Min 38. They were all the residents of Ngahtoe Gyi Township.

On 23 April 2023, the body of a member of the People’s Defence Force Ko Phoe Htaung was found in Maddaya township in Mandalay Region. His body was wearing the tag of Thway Thauk. Ko Phoe Htaung was arrested by the military junta two weeks before his death. He was arrested on 8 April while trying to fix explosives in a government-owned chemical factory in Madaya Township.

Items confiscated from a Thway Thauk group after he was arrested by PDF. They are link to USDP (Photo Credit : Mya Nanda Opration)

6. Advocacy training

As the public revolt against the junta grew stronger, it became more difficult for the military junta, which called itself the State Administration Council (SAC) to control the public anger. However, the SAC tried to use several tactics in trying to gain support among the general public. The tactic includes providing financial support to pro-Buddhist groups. It is easier for the junta to bring pro-Buddhist and pro-Burma forces to its side, as these groups hold the same values as the cardinal principle of the Myanmar military, which is to enforce Burma supremacist policy. They use such propaganda tools as what they are trying to do is to protect race and religion.

A resident of Sagaing Township said as the public resistance grew against the junta, they established a militia group transformed from Pyu Saw Htee in 2023. As the junta faces depletion of its fighting force, they asked the militant group to fight from its side.

A political activist commented on the plan by the junta to conduct military training for the members of Pyu Saw Htee in Tharyarwaddy District

A similar training was conducted in Kyar Chaung village in Tyeikkyi Township on 7 August 2021. The training session provided trainees on how to use howitzers, a participant who joined the training later told BBC. He said it was the fifth similar training provided by the Myanmar military.

The junta has asked the local administrators in Waekhama Township in Ayeyarwaddy Region to collect at least 20 recruits from each village in the township. They are to serve under a new militia group the junta is going to set up.

Those who were forcibly asked to join the training had to join a week’s course. The junta also provided basic military training in some villages in the Mandalay region. The news on this training was revealed in an article by Naung Taw Lay in the Myanmar Post newspaper. Naung Taw Lay is a member of Ma Ba Tha.

The junta has established militia groups in each township in the Ayeyarwaddy Region. These militia groups are to protect the junta from the attack of the People’s Defence Forces (PDF). The militia group was established with 10 recruits from each ward in the town. The barracks of each of the township militia groups are established in the village administration offices.

In the remote parts of the country where recruitment is difficult the junta draw conscripts from the pro-junta the Young Men Buddhist Association (YMBA). The junta has spread a new slogan saying that “Burmese nationalism started with YMBA and that all YMBA members should join the militia groups”. YMBA was established in the 1920s during Myanmar’s struggle for independence from British rule.

A pro-junta local administrator Win Naing (a.k.a) Galon was appointed in charge of collecting recruits in Ma U Bin Township in Ayeyarwaddy Region. The junta also instructed the local administrators in other townships in the Ayeyarwaddy Region as Mawlamyine Kyun and Labutta Townships to collect conscripts.

A video of the top leader of Pyu Saw Htee, a Buddhist monk Watharwa, went viral on social media. The video shows Wathawa addressing a passing out parade of about 50 trainees in Kanbalu Township in Sagaing Region. In the video the monk said

“If I may say about our military affairs I want to say that I have received weapons and bullets,”.

Wathawa is a well-known person in Sagaing Region as a member of the now-defunct MaBaTha. He has been involved in running pro-Buddhist schools in the region for the past five years.

In another voice file of Wathawa spread on social media, he was heard saying that he would wipe out the PDFs from the face of the country’s map.

Wathatwa has been advocating for civilians to join the militia group. He went to several parts of the country to lobby on behalf of the junta. He said the militia groups are important to protect the country.

Picture of Wathawa addressing a public meeting (Photo Credit: Myanmar National Post)

In his speeches, he threatened those who refused to join the militia groups asking the civilians if they did not join the militia which means they supported terrorist groups referring to PDF groups.

He also encourages civilians to join the militia groups and hold arms to protect their own villages within the law. The junta forces provided security to Wathawa in the public meetings he attended.

The strongholds of Pyu Saw Htee, which is led by Watharwa, include the villages along the Mu River basin area, which is situated in the area near the boundaries of Taze and Kanbalu townships. They included Kyun Le, Mu Tein, Mu Khwa, Bayin, Hmaw Taw and Kawshat villages.

Also, there are some strongholds for Pyu Saw Htee in Kyun Hla Township in Sagaing Region, they include Than Bo, Bo Kone, Ta Kone, and Koko Kone villages. Watharwa boasted that there are more than 4000 Pyu Saw Htee troops based in Kanbalu, Kyun Hla, and Taze townships.

Picture of Wathawa addressing Pyu Saw Htee members in Sagaing Region (Photo Credit: Myanmar National Post)

There are incidents of conscription reported in Shwe Kyin Township in Bago Region. The civilians were forced to join the milia groups. The agents of the junta threatened the local communities to provide at least 30 conscripts from each village or they were forced to pay.

In recent weeks the junta has been forcibly recruiting in Kwin Seik, Done Zayat, Ah Naung Bah, Tagon Tine and Win Kha Neik villages in Shwe Kyin Township. Those families who cannot provide the recruit are forced to pay Kyat 100 000 per person.

The junta also tried to establish a militia group in the Da Nu Self-Administered Area in Ywa Ngan Township in Southern Shan State. They sought support from a local militia group Danu Army in collecting recruits.

The junta’s agents forced the local communities to provide at least 13 recruits from each village in Ywa Ngan Township. Some members of the Da Nu ethnic group as well as the top leadership of the Danu National Democratic Party (DNDP) and some local businessmen are helping the junta to establish the militia group. The members of the PaO National Organization (PNO) are also providing support to the junta.

The military junta has established a group which it said was designed to help Public Security in a village in Yae Oh Sin village in Mandalay Region’s Leiwai Township in August 2022.

The group was established after a group of junta officials visited the village to meet with some monks in the village. The junta officials and the monks called a public meeting and requested that one member of the family join the new militia group. The group was established with the supporters of the local administrators of the village. The monk who was instrumental in establishing the group is U Thu Za Na who was a key leader of Ma Ba Tha. He was a key aide of the top leader of the ultra-nationalist group Wirathu.

In Nay Pyi Taw the junta established the Pyu Saw Htee group before the 2020 General Election.

Although the candidate for the NLD won the seat for Dashina Thiri constituency in Nay Pyi Taw, however, the candidate lost in the vote count to a candidate of USDP in Yan Aung Myin village where the junta has established Pyu Saw Htee group.

In Yar Gyi Pyin village in Magwe Region’s Pauk Township, militia training was conducted and the heads of 10 households in the villages in the township were asked to join the training. Those who could not join the training were forced to pay Kyat 500 000 per household. The training was conducted in the compound of a monastery in the village and the trainers were from the military officials from a state weapon factory no 24 based in Pauk.

A group called itself the National Security Social Network (NSS) was established in Shan State. The group is established with the individuals who support the 2008 Constitution. The pictures that appeared on social media suggest that Pyu Saw Htee and NSS have formed an alliance and are working together.

7. Monks from Ma Ba Tha who are advocating for establishing Pyu Saw Htee and people militia in the Saging Region

7.1 Wathawa

Wathawa is popularly known as a pistol “wearing monk” as he holds weapons in public places. In a recent incident, he entered a monastery in Taze Township in Sagaing Region wearing a pistol. He is originally from Hmaw Taw village in Kanbalu Township which is also situated in Sagaing Region.

Wathatwa is actively involved in running pro-Buddhist schools which are called Damma School Foundation, an initiative by the Buddhist nationalists. Many children and youth joined the school. Wathawa is also known as “550 monk” as his village Hmaw Taw has 500 Muslim households and 50 Buddhist homes.
He has established close ties with U Wirathu, the former leader of MA Ba Tha who is also the face of extreme Buddhist nationalism in Myanmar.

Wathatwa has been trying to establish his own pocket army. He joined many military training conducted in several villages in Sagaing Region. Wathat has been instrumental in establishing Pyu Saw Htee groups in several villages in Kanbalu Township, including Sabei Nantha, Nat Inn, Nat Pay, Seik Phyu Myaung, Hmaw Taw, Myay Htoo, Leik Htoo, Kyun Hla, Zeegone etc.

Picture of Wathawa (Photo Credit : Khit Thit Media)

7.2  Pandita- Tatkhit Bhamo (Kyaukse)

Monk Pandita who is also known by his pseudonym Tatkhit Bhamo (Kyaukse) is a close aide of Wirathu. He leads the businesses of Ma Ba Tha on behalf of the organisation. He always carries a weapon with him. Along with Wirathu Pandita is working from the forefront for the establishment of the people’s militia groups.

Picture of Pandita (Photo Credit : Khit Thit Media)

7.3 Wirayaza

Wirayaza is an ultra-nationalist monk based in the Tanpawaddy ward in Mandalay. He is a strong supporter of Wirathu. He not only holds weapons but also bullets in public places. He is a communication in charge of Ma Ba Tha. And he took the lead in the establishment of the pro-Buddhist school Mahawthatha.

Picture of Wirayaza (Photo Credit : Khit Thit Media)

8. The connection between the military junta and militia groups

The militia groups are established to protect the rights of a particular ethnic group, religion or political ideology. The militia groups are to serve the governments directly or indirectly. The militia groups in Myanmar are used by the military junta to fight against its opponents like the Armed Ethnic Organisations. The militia groups that are affiliated with the junta are being used as a key source of promoting national security.

The militia groups that allied with the junta are providing indirect support to the military junta. These militia groups help the junta in monitoring the movements of the ethnic armed organisations as well as collecting military data of the ethnic armed organisations for the military junta and guiding junta troops in the fight against the ethnic armed organisations.

According to research conducted by John Buchanan, a doctoral student at Washington State University, there are about 80,000 militia groups that are operating across the country and the military junta has provided arms to these groups.

A deputy Minister of Defence Lieutenant General Myint New said in a statement to the parliament on 11 September 2019 that the people militias are formed as a part of the military strategy and the military provides training and arms to the members of these groups.

8.1. Marchian Militia

On the morning of 7 August 2021, 7 fully armed military vehicles from the Eastern Regional Military Headquarters based in Taunggyi City arrived at the Marchian Militia Headquarters in Namsan, Southern Shan State, and requested reinforcements to suppress the PDFs in Southern Shan State. The militia group is operating under the control of the military junta. Shan State has a large number of local militia groups under the junta, and they operate illegal businesses, including drug trafficking and running gambling syndicates with the support of the military junta.

Picture of the head of Marchian militia Major Hkam Awng (Photo Credit : BBC / Than Soe Aung’s FB)

8.2. Shaduzwar militia

On the morning of 18 July 2021, the Shaduzwar militia group attacked a base of an ethnic armed organisation Kachin Independence Army in Tanai Township in Kachin State. In the attack, 2 soldiers from Battalion 14 under KIA Brigade 2 were killed. The attack was carried out by a local leader of the Shaduzwar militia group, Min Zin Thant. Shaduzwar militia group is stationed in Tanai Township, Warazwar Village, and Model Village, and is a battalion under the no 297 Light Infantry Battalion based in Shaduzwar. The Shiduzuwar militia group is engaged in gold mining along Lido Road, in Tanai Township.

8.3. PaO Militia

The PaO militia group under the Pao National League (PNO), which is close to the military junta, forcibly recruited civilians in villages in southern Shan State and provided military training to them. The group is involved in collecting recruits for the junta in Pinlong, Hsiheng, and Hopone townships which are under the PaO autonomous region.

PNO is also involved in recruitment in the villages in Taunggyi, Mauk Mei, Loi Lin, Pinglong, Nyangshwe, Aung Pag, Kalaw, Yatsauk, and Namsan townships where the majority of PaO people live.

The PaO National League has allied with the junta, and they have been helping the junta in conscription since May. The group also forced the local civilians to pay the cost of conducting wars against the anti-junta groups.

PNO has recruited 13 new conscripts from each village. Each household in the village is asked to pay Kyat 30 000 in addition all males in the family under 45 years of age are asked to join in a draw and those whose names were selected in the draw are asked to join the military training.

PNO conducted the training of trainers classes for 5 people selected through a draw and they were asked to give training to other villagers. A PNO official U Maung Win is the main responsible person for conducting the training.

The deputy leader of PNO denied reports of his group’s involvement in conscription. However, Lieutenant Colonel Khun Aung Than admitted in an interview with Myanmar Now news agency that PNO collect Kyat 30,000 from each household.

The PNO is to join hands with the military junta to establish militia groups like Pyu Saw Htee in Ywa Ngan Township in Shan State. Even though PNO tried to explain to the local ethnic people that Pyu Saw Htee is a militia group formed to protect their territory, however, majority of them still view Pyu Saw Htee as a terrorist organisation. A local source said 700 Pyu Saw Htee members are operating in 62 villages in Ywa Ngan Township.

An ethnic armed organisation fighting the junta in Kayah State, the Kayah National Democratic Force, said PNO joined with the junta in a recent fight. Also, PNO reportedly joined hands with the junta in fighting against the pro-democracy militia groups in Southern Shan State.

The PNO has denied these reports. However, PNO soldiers are seen mending security checkpoints in the villages of Pinglaung, Nyaung Shwe and Phe Khone townships.

The PNO was established by its political wing Pao National League. PNO signed a cease-fire with the military regime in 1991 and later transformed into a militia group. The leader of the Pao National League was U Aung Kham Hti, who is close to the military leaders of different generations. U Aung Hkam Hti is also close to the current junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who paid courtesy visits to the PNO leader several times. The government of Myanmar awarded U Aung Hkam Hti a civilian award Wunna Kyaw Htin in 2012.

8.4 Khao Lan Pu indigenous militia

The junta conducted training for the members of the Khao Lan Pu indigenous militia group military in Naungmon township in Kachin State starting on 9 October. The training aimed to help the junta in fighting against the PDF and KIA. Most of the trainees are elderly people. They were told to join the training on information provided to them that PDF and KIA are to target elderly people. As they could not verify the news as the region had no internet and access to other information sources was limited, they had to accept whatever the junta and the leaders of the militia group told them. Khao Lan Pu indigenous militia was established during the 1990s to fight KIA along with the junta. The militia group is named after the name of its headquarters.

8.5 Mong Pan militia

Mang Pan militia group is helping the junta in collecting recruits in Tangyan Township in Northern Shan State where it is based. The group asked for at least two recruits from each village and they forced those families who could not provide recruits. The group charged a hefty Kyat 900 000 per person as compensation for avoiding conscription.

In the past, the militia group only did conscription in the villages in Tangyan Township, however, after the military coup they started to look for recruitment in the towns. Along with the Mong Pan militia, another militia called the Mong Ha group is based in Tangyan.

9. Conclusion

The military has used race and religion to consolidate political power since its establishment in 1941. In the aftermath of the latest military coup in Myanmar three years ago the military junta led by Min Aung Hlaing widely used nationalist ideas as a propaganda tool against the popular anti-military sentiments among the youth who are fighting the dictatorship. Their political struggle is popularly known as the “Spring Revolution” participated by tens of thousands of civilians, mainly the youth.

The military did not stand in countering anti-regime forces alone, it tried to consolidate its power by establishing militia groups like Pyu Saw Htee, and Thway Thauk group to support its oppression of popular demands among the public for democracy. Those who joined the junta in establishing these unlawful groups are those who have been spreading the message of hatred against the members of the minority religions in Myanmar. The pro-junta militia groups mostly operate in the areas where the junta face stiff resistance from the pro-democracy groups.

In expanding the nationalist forces, the military junta and its affiliates used to spread hatred against Christians and Muslims as a strategy to garner support from the majority of Buddhists. The junta’s strategy started with supporting groups in MaBaTha, which was used to spread hatred against the members of the minority religions. It did not have an armed wing.

In recent months Pyu Saw Htee group emerged to spread the ideology of the military regime and Ma Ba Tha through violent means. These groups tried to spread their ethno-religious ideology in favour of the Buddhist religion and Bama race in the Bamar majority regions in the ethnic states.

In its fight against the groups opposing the regime, the army also used members of the USDP, who had in-depth knowledge of the areas they were operating.

And the junta used Pyu Saw Hee as a reserve force. In the major cities, groups like Thway Thauk are trying to terrorise the anti-junta groups. As the junta is facing attacks from armed ethnic groups across the country these affiliated groups such as Pyu Saw Htee, and Thway Thauk are employed to terrorise the civilians who are calling for democracy, equality, and the rule of law.

These groups are currently focusing on terrorising the supporters of the NLD, PDFs and the activists who are fighting the regime for their democratic rights. However, it is likely that at one stage groups like Ma Ba Tha, Pyu Saw Htee and Thway Thauk, who are staunch advocates for Burma nationalism would resort to advocating for renewed genocide against the members of minority religions in Myanmar.

Download full report in English and Burmese.