Growing Pressure on Townships in Mon State as Junta Expands Forced Recruitment Drive for Batch 13

May 10, 2025

Local sources confirm that township administrators in Mon State townships have received direct orders from the Mon State Junta to forcibly conscript at least 40 individuals each from Thanbyuzayat, Ye, Kyaikhto, Thaton, Kyaikmayaw, and Paung Townships for the upcoming People’s Military Service Training Batch 13. The training is scheduled to begin in the third or fourth week of May 2025.

According to township and village administrators, who spoke anonymously for security reasons, the junta has placed intense pressure on local administrative committees to meet these quotas without exception.

“Each township must send 40 youths. We have been told to ensure full numbers are collected, or we face serious repercussions,” said a member of an administrative committee. He also explained that local authorities are being forced to collect military service funds monthly and that failure to meet recruitment targets could result in personal punishment or dismissal.

Following the junta’s orders, night-time inspections and door-to-door raids have intensified across urban areas. Youths walking or traveling after dark are often detained and forcibly conscripted. Disturbingly, even individuals who had been previously arrested for drug-related charges, theft, or robbery are being conscripted into the military after monetary exchanges, highlighting how extortion and corruption are deeply entwined with the conscription process. Migrant workers, alcoholics, the unemployed, and impoverished young people are especially being targeted.

Recruits from Mon State are primarily being sent to the Wae Ka Li Military Training School in Thanbyuzayat and the military training center in Thaton. After completion, most are deployed directly to front-line combat zones. HURFOM’s documentation reveals that from Batches 1 through 12, at least 2,300 people in Mon State have already been forcibly conscripted. Many of these individuals were sent to dangerous battlefields without adequate training and were often used as human shields by the junta.

The escalating forced conscription campaign reflects the junta’s growing desperation as it struggles to replenish troops lost on the battlefield. The heavy reliance on threats, financial extortion, and the exploitation of vulnerable groups underscores the ongoing human rights abuses being committed across Mon State and other regions.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News