Growing Momentum of Defections and Surrenders from the Junta Forces (OCT 2023–DEC 2025)

According to updated figures compiled by People’s Goal, based on publicly available news sources collected after the 1027 declaration, 27 October 2023, the total number of defectors, surrenders, and prisoners of war (PoWs) from the junta’s ranks has reached 9,543 as of December 2025. This total includes soldiers, police officers, and militia members, indicating deepening fractures within the military regime.

From 2023 to 2025, an estimated 3,308 soldiers defected, 960 surrendered, and 3,799 were captured as PoWs, bringing the total number of soldiers who have exited the junta’s control to 8,067. During the same period, 847 police personnel and 663 militia members also defected, surrendered, or were captured.

These figures, systematically compiled by People’s Goal using open source news reports following the 1027 declaration, present a clear trend: morale within the regime’s security forces continues to erode, and the cohesion of its command structure is weakening. The sustained rise in defections, surrenders, and PoW cases reflects growing disillusionment and shifting loyalties among those who once enforced the junta’s rule.