The military council is systematically collecting information about young people from orphanages and monasteries for forced military service, while also conducting pre-emptive arrests of youth targeted for military training. In Pyay, Bago Region, the military is actively gathering lists of young people residing in orphanages and monasteries for military recruitment, according to local residents. Starting from March, under the direction of the township’s military service recruitment committee, authorities have been collecting names of residents from orphanages and monasteries for military service.
In addition to collecting information, the military is conducting preventive arrests of young people out of concern they might flee to avoid military service, immediately transferring them to military facilities. Ward administrators and local administrative staff are systematically collecting names of young people from monasteries and orphanages throughout Pyay. While some institutions are being directly visited for data collection, in other cases, ward officials, including ten-household leaders, hundred-household leaders, and administrative clerks, are compiling lists at ward offices to prevent potential escapes.
In Yangon’s Kamayut Township, specifically in the Hledan area, thugs are arresting young people for military service and processing them through the township administrative office for identity verification before transferring them to the military. Since March, military-backed thugs have been stationed in private vehicles at locations with low foot traffic, waiting to forcibly recruit young people. Those arrested are temporarily held at the township administrative office near Nanattaw Bridge before being transferred to military recruitment units. The military is reportedly paying these thugs 300,000 kyats for each young person they successfully capture for recruitment. Local residents have confirmed that these forced recruitment activities are being carried out systematically, with young people being openly dragged into vehicles and processed through official channels before being sent to military training.
