Reuters :
Chanting in Burmese their readiness to fight “for the people”, around 120 youths jogged around a muddy forest clearing in the morning light in a video released by a group that has proclaimed itself a new fighting force against Myanmar’s junta.
A founder of the group, Mon Mon, said her United Defense Force was made up of protesters against the Feb 1 coup who had fled crackdowns in which hundreds of demonstrators have been killed by security forces.
The handout images, published by Reuters, are among the first that appear to show former protesters getting training from ethnic armies in Myanmar’s borderlands – a sign of the deepening crisis in the country of 53 million people.
“We are here to attend military training for three months and we all have one goal, the revolution,” Mon Mon told Reuters. “Most here are in their 20s, the students. Some are adults around 35 years old, 40 years old, but many are Generation Z.” Reuters was unable to independently verify the details of the make-up of the recently formed group.
Myanmar’s army did not respond to a request for comment. It has previously described protesters seeking the restoration of the civilian government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi as rioters who threaten national security.
Mon Mon said the group currently undergoing training included about 250 people, 20 of them women, but the organisation had around 1,000 people across Myanmar.
