By Ko Paing / MPA
In Paungde Township, Bago Region, five youths were forcibly arrested by the military junta to be conscripted for military training during the night, according to local sources.
On the night of September 26, two youths from the Wards of Paungde, one from Bokone Village, and two from Hintharkan Ywarma Village were taken by military personnel to be conscripted, residents reported.
“Two young men from Hintharkan Ywarma Village were arrested at night. The village administrator, along with police and soldiers, were involved in the arrest,” a local from Hintharkan Ywarma told MPA.
The forcibly recruited youths are often temporarily held at Light Infantry Division 66 in Innma Town before being sent for military training in Ba Htoo, Southern Shan State. However, it remains unclear to which military unit these latest detainees will be sent.
“We live in fear, waiting for the moment when they’ll come for us. If I didn’t have my wife and kids, I would have already joined the PDF,” said a local young business owner from Paungde.
It is also reported that when conscription news circulates, locals are often forced to bribe village administrators to avoid being taken.
“I’m just living a life on the wrong side of the story,” he added.
The residents from Hintharkan Ywarma Village also noted that there are very few young men left in the village, with even some married men fleeing to avoid forced conscription.
In February 2024, following the junta’s illegal conscription law, some youths in Paungde Township were fleeing abroad, with others joining the PDF or ethnic armed groups.
