Locals report that the military junta has called up youths under the age of 18 from villages in Daik-U Township, Bago Region, for the second batch of military training.
The junta’s move came after most of the youths on the list, which was sent through the respective administrators of Koke Kaing, Koe Tae Su, Kyay Taw Su and Yay Ma Aung villages, evaded conscription.
After the military council-appointed administrators included men aged 13 to over 70 who are able-bodied on the list, the underage boys who were on the list fled their homes, according to a female guardian.
“The youngest ones being called up are about 13-14 years old. My two little brothers, one 15 and the other 18, they came here to hide because their names were on the list. They don’t care if you have finished schooling or not. After we told them that those who were on the list were no longer here, they started calling up the remaining adults and minor children. They say whoever is left will be taken,” she said.
In addition, some parents paid 30,000 kyat through the respective village heads, fearing that their children’s names would be up for draft. However, they were told that they could not avoid military service even if they paid the money, resulting in the school fees being wasted and interrupting the education of school-age youths who have to flee.
With reports that women will also be drafted in the upcoming third batch, not only young and middle-aged men but also young women are fleeing their homes in Daik-U, according to a local resident who asked not to be named.
“I have heard that women will also be taken in the third batch. There are no more young men in the villages. And since there are no more young women either, they say they will just take whoever is left, no matter who. Some who can’t flee just stay here,” said the resident of Daik-U.
Since early February, the military council has been recruiting people for its militia and compiling lists of conscripts in the township. This has forced some to leave their homes because they are on the list. Their houses have been sealed off and confiscated by the military council.
In some villages in Taungoo Township in the eastern Bago Region, military council administrators also threatened families that they would be harmed if those on the draft list evaded military service, according to locals.
Although the military junta had announced that the first batch of conscription would begin in April, it accelerated the process by conducting training ahead of schedule and sending the newly drafted soldiers to the battlefields. Recruitment for the second round of military training is currently proceeding apace.
Sent by KIC.