Mon State Civilians Face Arbitrary Extortion and Forced Recruitment Under Junta’s 13th Conscription Campaign
May 1, 2025
In Mon State, the military junta and its appointed local administrators are ramping up efforts to forcibly recruit civilians and extort money under the pretext of military conscription. These actions are tied to the regime’s plan to launch the 13th round of People’s Military Service training, with local authorities across townships beginning to collect money from individuals through coercion.
Following the enactment of the junta’s conscription law, residents of Mawlamyine, Paung, Mudon, Thanbyuzayat, Kyaikmayaw, Ye, and Kyaik Hto townships report an uptick in street-level arrests targeting young men. Junta-aligned forces are detaining youth in both public spaces and private homes — often at night — and sending them to military training camps, citing “security concerns.”
Read moreYouth 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.
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Latest Headlines
- Mon State Civilians Face Arbitrary Extortion and Forced Recruitment Under Junta’s 13th Conscription Campaign
- Youth Under Siege: Extortion, Abduction, and the Junta’s Desperate Conscription Drive
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