Junta soldiers arrested four men at their homes in the North Ward of Kyaikto, Mon State, on 16 August 2024, for conscription, according to residents.
According to residents, 30 junta soldiers and police officers entered the North Ward in three military vehicles and arrested the four young men in their homes at around 7pm on 16 August, claiming they were being conscripted for military service, a Kyaikto resident said.
“There were police officers among them, but no administrators or civilians. They came in three cars and took the four men away for conscription. Some other youths listed for conscription have since gone into hiding. They no longer ask who is from which house anymore, like the other day. But they have people to give all the exact information about those listed,” the local added.
According to local residents, the junta has been compiling the conscription lists in all six wards of Kyaikto for the fourth batch of conscription since 7 August. The junta soldiers then began arresting those on the list in two vehicles, with some unnoticed, the residents said.
“About ten junta soldiers drove around the town the who day arresting people They do this every day. There were also people who were arrested. Some of the arrests went unnoticed,” the man said about the situation the youths are facing in Kyaikto.
In Kyaikto, there have been reports of arrests for military service as well as arrests of youths for alleged links to the People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) and for logistics support. Some local youths were forcibly arrested by the military and their families have had to negotiate a certain sum of money to secure their release and removal from the military service lists.
After the announcement of conscription, the military junta began to call up recruits for the first batch. However, the required quotas for each township were not met. Subsequently, the junta began to pressure and threaten the young people to do their military service, with the situation worsening to the point that the junta’s soldiers were now going to people’s homes to arrest them.
Sent by KIC.