At least a dozen vehicles have been seen in recent days carrying people involved in pro-military rallies to the Yangon office of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), according to sources.

The vehicles, which have also been seen transporting protesters to other locations around the city, have been coming and going from the office of the military’s proxy party on Than Lwin road in Bahan township for several days, witnesses said.

“This morning [February 25], there were some light trucks and a few nice ones—Pajeros, SUVs, KIAs, the kind they use for leaders—carrying 5,000-kyat earners to the office,” said a local resident who asked not to be named, referring to people suspected of being paid to attend rallies in support of the military.

One of the trucks, which was identified by its license plate number, had been used the day before to drop off a group of people in Mingalar Taung Nyunt township’s Kantawlay ward, where they were later detained by local residents for starting fights.

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A vehicle carrying pro-military protesters is seen in two locations—near the site of a rally and near the USDP office in Bahan township. (Photo: Myanmar Now) 

People living near the USDP office say they have been recording the make and license plate numbers of vehicles seen leaving the office in order to trace them to other sites.

Since the start of the week, at least 150 people, many of them carrying steel rods, have left the office in the back of 14-foot trucks, they said.

Although most of the vehicles that have turned up at pro-military rallies have had their license plates covered, many matched the make and other details of those captured in photos taken near the USDP office.

Myanmar Now carefully examined many of these photos and concluded that at least some of the vehicles spotted at the rallies were likely the same as those seen at the USDP’s Yangon office.

Earlier this month, another person living on Than Lwin road reported similar sightings on a day that was marked by counter-protests against the growing movement calling for an end to military rule.

Myanmar Now contacted Kyaw Soe, the USDP’s secretary for Yangon region, for comment on the claims that the party was connected to the pro-military rallies, but he denied any knowledge of the matter.

“I don’t know anything about it, because I’m travelling to a remote township at the moment,” he said.

San Kyaw, a former USDP MP representing Seikkan township in the Yangon region parliament, dismissed any suggestion that the party was involved with anyone taking part in the rallies.

“They’re just ordinary people like anyone else,” he said of the pro-military protesters. “They’re not related to our party’s office. Anyone who says otherwise is speaking recklessly.”

However, local residents who detained 18 military supporters in Yangon on Thursday for attacking Myanmar Railways employees taking part in the Civil Disobedience Movement said they found evidence that at least a few were USDP members.

The military-backed USDP won just 7% of the seats it contested in last year’s election, which the party and the military later claimed was rife with voter fraud.

When the National League for Democracy (NLD) was declared the victor after winning in 83% of all constituencies, the USDP called on the Union Election Commission (UEC) to declare the results invalid and redo the election under military supervision.

When the UEC refused to do so, rallies started taking place around the country questioning the commission’s integrity. These rallies grew increasingly violent in the days before the military seized power in a coup on February 1.

On Friday, a newly formed election commission officially annulled the election results at a meeting that was attended by the USDP but boycotted by most other major political parties.