The Arakan Army (AA) has rejected claims by the Myanmar military that 20 AA fighters and 12 People’s Defense Force (PDF) members surrendered to junta forces in Pathein, Ayeyarwady Region. AA spokesperson Khaing Thukha dismissed the military’s statement—which claimed the defectors handed over 13 weapons to the Southwestern Regional Military Command—as "completely false propaganda." “The regime has repeatedly made such shameless and false claims,” Khaing Thukha told Narinjara News. He added that junta forces in Ayeyarwady Region have been detaining young Rakhine travelers fleeing war zones, forcing them to pose as surrendered AA fighters for staged media events. In contrast to the junta's claims, Khaing Thukha stated that regime forces are suffering from collapsing morale, with scores of junta soldiers abandoning their posts or surrendering to opposition forces across active battlefronts.