Local sources report that the military junta continues to conduct nightly raids to recruit young people as porters in Taunggyi, Shan State, with one woman being detained this week.
She was arrested by junta soldiers on the way from Taunggyi to Shwe Nyaung on 1 January, according to a woman close to her.
“She was arrested on her way to Shwe Nyaung. They checked her phone and said they found evidence of donations. When they first detained her, they let her make a brief call home to say she’d been arrested. Shortly after that, they took her phone away and we lost all contact,” the woman said.
The woman is currently being held at the Shwe Nyaung police station and has not yet been released.
Similarly, during December’s porter recruitment drives in Taunggyi, 32 people from Kyaung Gyi Su Ward were arrested and remain missing without any information about their whereabouts, according to a resident from the ward.
“Out of all 22 wards targeted in the three-day sweep, our ward had the highest number of people taken. Earlier in the first week, three people from Pin Si (East) Ward were also taken. None of them have been released. We haven’t heard anything about them since,” the resident continued.
Furthermore, the military council has reportedly instructed ward administrators to compile lists of young people who have turned 18 this January by area.
A man from Taunggyi explained, “They’re now ordering lists of young people aged 18 and above by area. For example, they want lists of those who turned 18 in December, those turning 18 in January. They’re demanding lists of people between 18 and 35 years old.”
Due to these forced recruitment drives by the junta, most young people have fled into hiding, with some escaping abroad.
“These arrests shouldn’t be happening. They have already sent summon letters before. These street arrests are just for profit. After arrests, they manipulate the records, summon people officially, and then say ‘If your people can’t go, pay 800,000, or 1 million, or 1.5 million kyats,'” the resident continued.
Given the situation, the resident advises young people to avoid going out at night and to be careful when they travel.
Since the military council implemented the mandatory military service law on 10 February 2024, there have been 1,160 cases of forced recruitment with 22,765 people detained, according to a 1 January statement by the National Unity Government (NUG).
Sent by Shan News.
