Three Burmese soldiers desert posts

DVB ( Aug 19, 2003 )

Three fully-equipped soldiers from Magwe-based LIB (Light Infantry Battalion) No 88 have deserted on 19 August after relieving their guard duty and, have been holding up on an island between Magwe and Minbu.
Three soldiers from LIB No 88, who were on guard duty at the Irrawaddy Bridge, did not return to the battalion after they had changed their guard duty. Instead, they threatened a boatman with a gun and forced him to take them to an island between Magwe and Minu. Soldiers from LIB No 88 went around the island and persuaded the three to lay down their weapons but the matter has not been solved till now.

According to residents of Magwe and Minbu they could hear gunshots from the city while a child from Minbu was hit by a stray bullet. Security has been beefed up at the Irrawaddy Bridge, Magwe, and Minbu. The public have been prohibited from entering the famed Myathalun Pagoda in Magwe as well as from crossing the Irrawaddy Bridge.

Authorities have initially ordered the soldiers to capture the deserters alive but now they have changed that to either dead or alive. The three soldiers deserted because they did not get along with the adjutant.

Source: Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese 1430 gmt 19 Aug 03
BBC Monitoring Service