Military junta-appointed village administrators in Ywangan Township, southern Shan State, are arbitrarily selecting conscripts based on their personal preferences, locals report.
When compiling lists of eligible individuals for conscription in the township, the process does not involve a random lottery or systematic collection by junta-appointed authorities.
Instead, administrators are said to target those with whom they have poor relations or those from impoverished backgrounds, as confirmed by local news sources.
A man from Ywangan explained: “The military service lists only include the names of people who don’t get along with the administrators, those who don’t support the military, and people from the working-class.”
Junta-appointed village administrators in Ywangan Township have already submitted their selected lists of conscripts to the army, according to sources.
The same resident added: “The administrator submitted the list to the military long ago—it’s unfair. Every time someone doesn’t get along with him or opposes the military, their name ends up on the conscription list. It’s outrageous.”
It is also reported that these administrators, who are closely tied to the junta, have threatened villagers, stating that each village in Ywangan Township must send five men for military service. While the junta claims it will only draft men aged 18 to 35, locals say that men over 35 are now being included on the conscription lists as well.
Those taken for military service by junta army reportedly lose all contact with their families and never return home, according to local men.
A Ywangan resident in his 30s said: “Not a single person from the last batch they took has been in touch. We don’t even know if they’re dead or alive. Now, with this new call-up, my name’s at the top of the list. My wife is heavily pregnant, and I don’t want to go. If I do, I might never come back in this lifetime.”
With no alternative options to avoid conscription, residents say they are forced to comply with the junta’s demands, though doing so feels like choosing a path to death.
Before the military seized power, back in 2018, junta troops visited Ywangan Township, promising good salaries to recruit locals as soldiers. One man who joined was killed in the 2024 Arakan State conflict, according to reports.
His family said that they neither received his body nor were allowed to see a photograph of him.
Currently, junta forces maintain dominance over Ywangan Township, conducting forced inspections of travelers at checkpoints, stationing troops in villages, and carrying out military operations, locals say.
Sent by Shan News.
