Myanmar Spring Chronicle – Scenes from February 27
MoeMaKa), February 28, 2026
Follow-up Arrests by the NUG After Bo Nagar’s Surrender
After Bo Nagar, the leader of the BNRA (a local defense force based in Pale Township, Sagaing Region), surrendered to the military junta on February 18, reports have emerged of continued arrests in Yinmabin District, Sagaing Region, targeting individuals associated with him as well as his relatives.
According to the latest reports, Bo Taw Ni, also known as Ba Htoo Maung, the leader of a local defense force named PRAF (People’s Revolutionary Armed Force), was arrested by the Yinmabin Pa Ka Pha (People’s Defense Team). Prior to that, Sayadaw U Ariyawuntha, a monk from Thetinkankyi Village in Pale Township who was said to be close to Bo Nagar, was reportedly arrested and interrogated by the “Pa Thone Lone” (military intelligence unit under the NUG). Additionally, Bo Nagar’s sister was reportedly arrested in recent days by a township-level official from the NUG administration in Pale.
Clashes began in the early morning of February 17 when NUG-aligned forces launched an attack on BNRA troops. The following day, Bo Nagar contacted the Northwestern Regional Military Command based in Monywa and surrendered. After his surrender, BNRA forces ceased resistance, and more than 150 BNRA members were detained by NUG-aligned forces.
Subsequently, the NUG’s Pa Thone Lone units reportedly continued arresting not only BNRA members but also individuals connected to Bo Nagar. Although these actions by NUG-affiliated intelligence units may be carried out in accordance with legal procedures, in the eyes of the public they appear similar to the way the military junta treats revolutionary forces and political opponents.
Summoning individuals for necessary questioning, making arrests, or committing unlawful torture and killings are not equivalent in severity. However, when an armed organization arrests individuals without publicly disclosing the reasons for the arrest or the actions being taken, relatives and associates of those detained may perceive the conduct as resembling that of the military dictatorship.
Furthermore, arresting the leader of another revolutionary armed group such as PRAF on suspicion of association with Bo Nagar risks deepening mistrust among revolutionary forces themselves.
In order to prevent confusion, disappointment, and negative perceptions among members of the public who support the Spring Revolution, it is urgently necessary for the National Unity Government (NUG) to provide transparent public statements, timely disclosure of information, and clear accountability regarding these arrests.
How the NUG handles conflicts among resistance forces—described politically as “intra-allied conflicts”—in the fight against the military junta is a crucial issue. It also warrants serious consideration whether disputes among armed groups over ground-level taxation, rights to extract natural resources, and taxation on resource extraction are triggering tensions that could turn allied organizations into adversaries.
Some observers argue that the NUG needs to engage and coordinate not only with the numerous local defense forces operating in the Anyar (central dry zone) region—including Magway, Mandalay, and Sagaing Regions—but also with ethnic armed organizations operating in adjacent ethnic territories. They suggest that the NUG must work to organize and unify not only local forces but also those ethnic armed groups that are maneuvering according to their own military and political strategies.
The Anyar region includes Magway, Mandalay, and Sagaing Regions, and ethnic armed organizations are also conducting military operations in areas bordering these regions.