Five Escape, One Successfully Flees, Four Recaptured After Being Deported from Thailand to Kaw Thaung for Conscription

April 9, 2025

A group of young men who were deported from Thailand back to Burma through the Kaw Thaung border were being forcibly recruited into military training by the junta. Among them, five attempted to escape. One successfully fled, while four were recaptured. Their families and relatives reportedly have no knowledge of their whereabouts.

According to local sources, these individuals were taken to the Light Infantry Battalion No. 431 in Kaw Thaung Township for military training. The escape reportedly occurred in the last week of March.

“Most of the people deported from Thailand to Kaw Thaung have been sent directly to military camps for conscription. This has been going on for some time. Many of them are from different regions of Burma,” said a resident of Kaw Thaung.

Witnesses confirmed that one of the five who escaped — a 20-year-old local man named Ko Minn Minn — managed to get away. He had previously been detained in Thailand for illegally entering the country and was deported from Ranong to Kaw Thaung Town, southern Tanintharyi Region.

“Those who are not familiar with the area don’t know how to avoid arrest. Only one managed to escape,” said a source familiar with the situation.

Ko Minn Minn has expressed his desire to return to Thailand, where his family is currently staying, and arrangements are being made to help him reunite with them.

There is still no information about the condition or whereabouts of the four others who were recaptured after attempting to flee alongside him.

Locals expressed serious concerns about the junta’s ongoing efforts to forcefully conscript returnees into military service. They hope for stronger measures to prevent such abuses, especially for those being sent back from Thailand.

Since March 2024, the junta has intensified its campaign of forced conscription, targeting returnees from Thailand without notifying their families. Local residents in Kaw Thaung say that many families remain unaware of the fate of their loved ones who are being taken by force.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News