Myanmar junta offers cash rewards to anti-coup defectors

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Myanmar has been consumed by civil war since a 2021 coup.

PHOTO: AFP

YANGON – Myanmar’s junta said on July 18 it is offering cash rewards to fighters willing to desert armed groups defying its rule and “return to the legal fold” ahead of a slated election.

The South-east Asian country has been

consumed by civil war since a 2021 coup,

After suffering major battlefield reverses, the military has touted elections around the end of 2025 as a pathway to peace – plans denounced as a sham by opposition groups and international monitors.

State media The Global New Light of Myanmar said on July 18 that “individuals who returned to the legal fold with arms and ammunition are being offered specific cash rewards”.

The junta mouthpiece did not specify how much cash it is offering, but said 14 anti-coup fighters had surrendered since it issued a statement pledging to “welcome” defectors two weeks ago.

“These individuals chose to abandon the path of armed struggle due to their desire to live peacefully within the framework of the law,” the newspaper said.

The surrendered fighters included 12 men and two women, it added.

Nine were members of ethnic armed groups, while five were from the pro-democracy People’s Defence Forces – formed after the military ousted Ms Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected civilian government in 2021.

The junta’s offer of a gilded olive branch matches a tactic used by its opponents – who have previously tried to tempt military deserters with cash rewards.

The National Unity Government, a self-proclaimed administration