Photos of Myanmar armed force circulated with claims of JLA activity in Sajek
Four photos of armed individuals have spread on Facebook with claims that Sajek, a hill resort area in Rangamati district in southeastern Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts region, is now under the control of the “Jumma Liberation Army,” or JLA. However, Dismislab’s fact-check found that the photos had previously been published on a Myanmar-based Facebook profile. According to that profile, the photos show the People’s Defense Force (PDF), an armed wing of the National Unity Government (NUG) in Myanmar which opposes the country’s military junta.
Four photos were posted on Oct 25 from a Facebook page named “Hello Jummo People’s”. The post claimed that the entire Sajek area is now under JLA control. It urged tourists not to enter Sajek, and further claimed that anyone captured by JLA forces would not be granted bail, and that no one would be released even in exchange for ransom. The same post also claimed that operations were being carried out against the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF).
Sharing this post, Fatima Tasnim Zuma, secretary for liberation war and democratic movement at the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU), wrote, “This is not terror. It would have been terror if their names included Md or Islam.”
The same post was also shared from the profiles of activist Mohammad Ishrak and former army officer Abdullah Aman Azmi.
The post was also shared from the verified Facebook page of “Private University Students Alliance of Bangladesh – PUSAB”. It read, “Those who say to pull the army out of the hills should be packed up and dropped off with these people.”
In the first of the circulated photos, several individuals are seen in an open hilly area. The second and third photos show armed individuals descending a rocky slope toward a stream. The fourth photo shows several firearms placed against a tree.
A reverse search of the photos to verify their authenticity led to a video on a Facebook profile named “Kyaw Zayar”, which contained the scenes from two of the photos. In the video, posted on this profile on Sept 24, armed individuals are seen descending a rocky slope toward a stream. Their clothing, weapons, positions, and the surrounding rocks and vegetation match exactly with the scenes in the two circulated photos.
The description of the video is written in Burmese. Translated into Bangla by Dismislab, it reads, “No matter how difficult the situation becomes, we must overcome it together.”
A further review of the profile also turned up the first and fourth photos from the circulated post. The first photo was posted from the Kyaw Zayar profile on Aug 20, 2025, and the fourth was posted on July 12 this year. The post containing the photo from Aug 20, 2025, carried a caption in Burmese that read, “After fleeing far from home, the sun seems to burn even more intensely. The path, too, seems to have grown more difficult. How exhausted I feel, Mother!”
The photo published on July 12 carried a caption that read, “My heart fills with sorrow watching everyone flee abroad one by one in desperation. Leave this devastated, aging homeland behind without worry. One day, when we rebuild the country as best we can, you will come back, won’t you?”
The Facebook profile named Kyaw Zayar contains several details linking it to Myanmar. In the profile’s personal details section, the current place of residence is listed as Magway, Myanmar, and the hometown is listed as “Myaing, Magwe, Burma.” Both locations are in Myanmar’s Magway Region.
The profile’s bio reads “Yebaw black.” In Burmese, the word “yebaw” means comrade or soldier. Another section of the profile’s details, written in Burmese, references Battalion No. 14 of Pakokku District. The same battalion is also listed under the profile’s workplace information.
A report by the Myanmar-based news outlet The Voice of Spring, published on Jan 3, 2023, reported on the completion of training for the first batch of the “Avenger” company of Battalion No. 14 in Pakokku District, Magway Region. The report said the training completion ceremony was held on Jan 1 that year. The outlet published the report as PDF-related news. Another report by Ludu Nway Oo, published on June 20 of the same year, also references Battalion No. 14 of Pakokku District, listing it alongside other local resistance forces. Separately, the “profile transparency” section of the Kyaw Zayar profile shows that it was created on July 8, 2023, and lists Myanmar as the location of whoever manages the profile.
In addition, the profile’s cover photo shows a group of individuals in military uniforms. Red badges are visible on the sleeves of their uniforms, and behind them is a red flag with a white star. A review of the symbols on the badge and flag found that they match the arm badge and flag used by the People’s Defense Force (PDF), Myanmar’s armed force opposed to the military junta. In particular, the white border and yellow symbol inside the red, shield-shaped badge on the uniform, and the design of the white star on the red background of the flag, both match. These symbols, along with the profile’s reference to PDF’s Battalion No. 14 in Pakokku District, indicate the profile’s connection to that Myanmar-based force.
In other words, the four photos of armed individuals that spread on Facebook with claims that the “Jumma Liberation Army,” or JLA, had recently taken control of Sajek are, in fact, photos of the People’s Defense Force (PDF), published from a Myanmar-based page.
All social media captions, quotations, and news excerpts in this article have been translated into English from the languages in which they were originally posted or published.
