Young Returnees Deported from Thailand Face Forced Conscription in Kawthaung Township

August 4, 2025

More than 150 Myanmar nationals deported from Thailand’s Ranong immigration detention center are now facing forced military conscription by junta forces in Kawthaung Township, according to HURFOM field researchers and local eyewitnesses.

On July 31, 2025, a total of 162 Myanmar nationals were repatriated from Ranong, Thailand, after serving sentences for immigration-related violations. They were handed over to the Myanmar authorities at the Kawthaung border checkpoint.

“Only those over the age of 35 were released after being processed at the border,” said a local source. “But all of the younger returnees—those under 35—were detained. None of the usual brokers were involved this time. For one 22-year-old man from Bankachone Village, his parents had to pay 25,000 Thai Baht to the military through a local village administrator just to secure his release.”

HURFOM verified that the young man is a resident of Bankachone Village, Kawthaung Township, and that the village administrator himself mediated the payment.

Others, however, were not as fortunate. Many returnees were taken to the main police station in Kawthaung, then transferred to Infantry Battalion No. 431, where they are now reportedly being forcibly conscripted into the junta’s military forces.

Among the conscripted individuals are young men from 10-Mile Village and Bankachone Village, whose families have been denied all contact since their detention. One 29-year-old from Bankachone was only released after his family managed to raise the bribe, between 20,000 and 30,000 Thai Baht.

“Those who couldn’t afford to pay are now at Infantry Battalion 431, and no one knows what’s happening to them,” said a worried relative from 10-Mile Village. “They’ve completely cut off contact.” Resistance groups and migrant networks monitoring the border crossings expressed grave concern about the pattern.

“This is clearly part of a larger forced recruitment campaign,” said a human rights defender close to the case. “Young men who should be returning to their families are instead being coerced into military service the moment they cross the border back home.”

As the crackdown on deported migrants continues, local communities and family members are left in fear, uncertain if their loved ones will be forced to fight in a war they never chose.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News