By Mg Dagon/MPA

In the Ayeyarwady Region, youths are being forcibly conscripted into military service without prior notice. Authorities are conducting random lot-based selections and abruptly raiding homes to detain recruits, according to local sources.

Since Feb.2025, the military junta has intensified its coercive recruitment practices, expanding from rural villages to urban neighborhoods across the region.

“They don’t inform anyone in advance. The military and administrative officials conduct the lottery at the council offices,” said a resident of Maungmya Township.

Previously, local administrators and village heads would notify those selected, but due to widespread evasion and escapes, authorities have resorted to surprise home raids.

“They no longer give warnings. They just show up at your house, announce that you’ve been selected, and take you away,” explained a 30-year-old man from Mawkyun Township.

These forced conscription measures follow the enforcement of the Conscription Law on Feb.10, 2024, as the junta desperately tries to replenish its dwindling military ranks.

To meet its urgent need for soldiers, the junta has accelerated training programs, often lasting only a month, before deploying recruits to the frontlines.

“They give about a month of refresher training and then send them to the front. The new recruits are terrified when they arrive,” said an anonymous junta official.

The frequency of conscription has escalated, with new recruitment cycles occurring almost weekly. So far, over 50,000 individuals have been forcibly conscripted, marking the 12th round of recruitment under the Conscription Law.

With battles raging on multiple fronts and heavy losses due to desertions and casualties, the junta is resorting to secret lotteries and arbitrary arrests of young people on the streets to replenish its ranks.