Youth Under Siege: Extortion, Abduction, and the Junta’s Desperate Conscription Drive

May 1, 2025

Young men in Ye and Thanbyuzayat Townships are being targeted in increasing numbers by junta forces through aggressive “stop-and-frisk” operations and arbitrary arrests, according to HURFOM field documentation teams. These abuses appear to be part of a systematic campaign to extort, abduct, and forcibly conscript civilians as the junta struggles to replenish its declining troop numbers.

Since early April, reports from locals have described daily military checkpoints at market areas, road junctions, tollgates, and hidden checkpoints within junta-controlled areas. Civilians—particularly young men—are being stopped, searched, and harassed without cause. Soldiers routinely demand bribes, abduct individuals, and pressure families to pay ransom fees for their release. Those who cannot afford the demands risk being sent to military training camps against their will.

On April 25, a witness reported heavy junta security near Ye Town’s entrance. “At the Mawkanin Road checkpoint, Light Infantry Battalion 106 was stopping all vehicles. I saw four young men taken away that morning—two of them were later released after their parents paid 3 million kyat each. The other two, from Sonnathar village, were sent to Waekali military training camp,” said a 45-year-old rubber trader.

Others described similar experiences. A former member of the New Mon State Party said:

“I’ve seen at least three cases myself. In one case, eight young men from Taung Phaloot and Kyar Kan were detained just for riding a motorbike together. The military demanded 1.5 million kyat each. Once paid, the soldiers told them not to speak a word and released them.” This pattern of corruption and coercion is intensifying in Ye Township.

On April 26, a local woman from Abaw village shared her story:

“They stopped a woman over a single illegal lottery ticket and demanded 500,000 kyat. It wasn’t even the army—Pyusawhtee militias were involved too. For young men, especially those with prior drug-related records, they’re constantly being targeted. They get accused without evidence, and the families are forced to pay.”

Reports also confirm that junta forces are exploiting stop-and-search operations as a revenue source. “It’s a daily scam,” said a motorbike driver from Ye. “If two men ride together, they’re stopped and harassed. At checkpoints near Ye, police, military, and Pyusawhtee militias all take part.

” Even non-local travelers are at risk. At the Kyon Paung Road entrance to Ye Town, two young men were stopped, their motorcycle seized, and both were taken away without charges. A local from Thanbyuzayat Township explained: “They don’t follow any procedures. They pull men off bikes, force them to kneel on the ground, and check their bags and phones out of sight. If they want, they can plant drugs or anything else. No one can prove otherwise. This turns every checkpoint into a gateway to forced military training—or worse.”

On April 28, around 20 motorbikes carrying two men each were reportedly stopped at Chaung Taung Bridge. The exact fate of those detained remains unknown. According to several field sources, many of the abducted are being sent to military camps in Waekali and Pulaw Townships. These include Training School No. 12 and No. 4, notorious for forcibly enlisting civilians.

As noted by a rights activist and member of the Human Rights Educator Network based in Mawlamyine: “The junta has turned its conscription law into a strategy to make up for its battlefield losses. But in practice, it is weaponizing fear and treating its own people as disposable. What we’re witnessing in Ye and Thanbyuzayat is not just arrests — they are crimes against humanity. These young people are being stripped of their freedom, dignity, and their right to life.”

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News