Myanmar Spring Chronicle – January 22 Scene*
January 23, 2026
KNLA Hands Over Suspect Who Shot at Thai Police to Thai Authorities
In recent days, a Myanmar national named Naing Lin Aung, who shot at Thai police and fled following an incident in Mae Sot, was handed over to Thai authorities on the afternoon of February 22 by Colonel Dar Baw, commander of the Cobra Column under the KNLA.
The shooting incident occurred on the afternoon of January 20 in the Mai Khu village area of Mae Sot. Naing Lin Aung, a former member of the Cobra Column, had reportedly been hired by a member of an ethnic armed organization based in Myanmar to transport weapons for a fee. When he went to the agreed meeting point, the supposed recipient turned out to be Thai police officers operating undercover. As police attempted to arrest him, he resisted, fired a gun, and fled into nearby sugarcane fields.
A second Myanmar national who accompanied him was arrested at the scene along with a motorcycle. Following this, Thai police conducted an intensive manhunt throughout the Mae Sot area, circulating the fugitive’s name and photographs. According to reports, Thai authorities also requested assistance from armed groups on the Myanmar side of the border, including the KNU/KNLA, in case the suspect crossed the Moei River into Myanmar.
Naing Lin Aung, who had previously served in the KNLA’s Cobra Column, did flee to the Myanmar side, where he was detained by the KNLA and subsequently handed back to Thai authorities.
This incident was regarded by the Myanmar community living in Mae Sot as one that could have serious repercussions for all Myanmar nationals. During the period before the suspect was captured, community members warned one another to avoid going out of their homes if possible. There were also widespread concerns that the incident could lead to tighter restrictions on the hundreds of thousands—if not millions—of Myanmar nationals who have sought refuge and work in Thailand due to ongoing war, economic crisis, the military conscription law, lack of job opportunities, and political repression inside Myanmar.
Regarding this case, social media posts citing statements from Naing Lin Aung’s family claim that he accepted the job of transporting weapons for payment due to severe financial hardship.
Commentary online has also noted that, like Naing Lin Aung, many people previously involved for a period of time in armed groups fighting against the military dictatorship later left those groups and now struggle under harsh and difficult conditions while trying to survive in Thailand. Despite having risked their lives to take up arms against the military regime, there are reportedly no organizations providing assistance to help them sustain their livelihoods after leaving armed service—an issue that has drawn criticism on social media.
According to these accounts, after leaving an armed revolutionary group, Naing Lin Aung worked as a construction laborer in Mae Sot to support his family. However, he faced difficulties such as problems with legal residency documentation and unpaid wages. He was also reportedly defrauded of the small amount of money he had borrowed and saved to arrange proper documents. As a result, he accepted the risky job of transporting weapons for a payment of 5,000 baht.
At a time when those who directly participated in the armed resistance are facing such hardships, social media commentary has also placed blame on individuals who raised funds in the name of the Spring Revolution and misused those funds, those who exploited the revolution to gain fame on social media and then embezzled money, and those who used revolutionary visibility as an opportunity for personal gain.
Naing Lin Aung, who has now been arrested, is currently only 21 years old. This suggests that when he joined as a PDF member after the military coup and when he served as a fighter in the Cobra Column, he was likely still under the age of 20. While many young people risked their lives to join the armed resistance, critics point out that no organizations have stepped in to assist those who later withdrew from armed groups and attempted to rebuild their lives in civilian society.
The incident in Mae Sot can be seen as one small shard of the Spring Revolution’s shattered mirror—a fragment that reflects aspects of the struggle that cannot be easily expressed through statistics and numbers such as troop strength, battlefield victories, casualties, territorial gains, or political and military wins and losses. Instead, it reveals the immeasurable elements: human emotions, the inner lives of individuals, and the fragile survival of families.