In Bago Region, the military council forces continue to forcibly recruit young people as porters, with the latest incident involving Ko Ye Myint Naing from Taungkone village in Oaktho Township, who was arrested from his home on the evening of March 9, leaving behind his two-year-old child. Ko Ye Myint Naing was having dinner at home around 8 PM when military council soldiers entered under the pretext of checking guest registration and forcibly took him away as a porter.
The arrest was reportedly facilitated by Taungkone village administrator Win Aung and hundred-households head Shwe Sin. Similarly, on March 8, six young people from Kyatsuhtaw village in Oaktho Township were also forcibly taken as porters by military council troops. The forced recruitment of porters has also been occurring regularly in Pyalo and Nyaungpinseik sub-townships of Aunglan Township in Bago Region, where military council forces have been conducting daily arrests of young people.
In Aunglan Township, since the beginning of March, an average of three to four young people have been arrested daily. On March 9 at around 8 AM, two civilians who were cutting sugarcane in Letpankan village were also taken away as porters by the military. These continuous arrests have created a climate of fear among local youth, making it difficult for them to go to work and forcing many to remain confined to their homes out of fear of being arrested. Local residents report that the situation has become increasingly dire as military council forces, working in conjunction with local administrators, continue their campaign of forced recruitment.
