Myanmar Youths Fleeing Conscription Arrested in Thailand

August 18, 2025

HURFOM: Thai authorities continue to arrest Myanmar nationals who have crossed the border illegally, as growing numbers of young people flee military conscription orders.

On August 15, at around 1:00 a.m., police in Sangkhla Buri Township, Kanchanaburi Province, stopped a vehicle driven by a Myanmar national and arrested seven undocumented passengers. Later the same day, at around 11:00 a.m., Thai authorities inspected a private car in Kanchanaburi and detained ten undocumented Myanmar migrant workers, along with the driver, who carried only a hill tribe identification card.

Local residents told HURFOM that the exodus is being driven by the junta’s ongoing forced recruitment campaign. “A lot of young people are fleeing to Thailand because military conscription summons are being sent out continuously. They go illegally, through underground routes. Most of the Mon people enter through Three Pagodas Pass,” said a man from Thanbyuzayat Township.

Those arrested are mostly between 18 and 35 years old—the primary age group targeted for conscription. Many attempt to enter Thailand through the Three Pagodas Pass before traveling on toward Bangkok or Samut Sakhon. Brokers charge each person more than 10,000 Thai Baht for the journey, yet many are caught and arrested along the way.

The arrests highlight the peril faced by young people escaping forced conscription, who are left with few options but to risk illegal migration, exploitation by brokers, and detention in a foreign country. For many families, this means losing sons and daughters to an uncertain and dangerous future.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News