The KNLA has reported that a new soldier named Ye Hint Khant Nyar, who was forcibly recruited in Mandalay after being taken as a porter and despite paying 150 lakhs (15 million kyat) to the military, has defected to their forces. The incident occurred in Pyigyitagon Township, Mandalay Region, where the military detained Ye Hint Khant Nyar and three of his friends, demanding 150 lakhs each for their release from military service. Despite the payment being made, the military not only kept the money but also forcibly conscripted them.
According to Ye Hint Khant Nyar’s testimony, they were initially stopped on the street and taken to a coal camp. The military then contacted their mothers and demanded 150 lakhs per person as a condition for exemption from military service. Even after the families paid the demanded amount, the military immediately transferred them to the recruitment center in Pyin Oo Lwin that same night. They were kept there for approximately 10 days before being sent to the Ba Htoo Military Training School. After completing training, he was assigned to the Aung Zeya column under Infantry Battalion 117 of Division 55.
The defected soldier revealed that within the military council forces, there are widespread abuses of power, unfair treatment, inhumane conditions, and forced assignments of impossible tasks. These conditions, along with the systematic exploitation of civilians through forced recruitment and extortion, ultimately led to his decision to escape and seek refuge with the KNLA. This case serves as evidence of the military council’s systematic practice of forcing civilians into military service while simultaneously extorting money from their families, demonstrating their continued oppression of the Myanmar people.
