In Ngapudaw Township of Ayeyarwady Region, the military council is pressuring ward and village administrators to recruit new soldiers. Due to the failure to secure new recruits for Military Training Course No. 16 starting in August, the township military recruitment committee has been forcefully summoning administrators from two urban wards and 16 village tracts, subjecting them to verbal abuse during meetings. The administrators have been ordered to bring one young recruit each to the meeting, and if they fail to do so, they must bring their hundred-household heads instead.
The areas that have not provided new military recruits include Kan Chaung, Oak Pun Yay Kyaw, Kan Ni, Ngar Yant Chaung, Zi Phyu Seik, Kya Kan, Kular Chaung, Kyun Nyi Kan Ba La, Yay Kaung Gyi, Nyaung Wine, Kyun Ku, Kyauk Chaung, San Gyi, Phaung Taw, Kwin Back, Kwe Chine, and Sa Par Gyi village tracts, as well as urban wards including Hine Gyi Ward No. 1 and Nga Yoke Kaung Ward No. 1. Local residents are fearful of increased pressure from the military council and anticipate more forced porter duties and arrests in their areas.
The military council has been conducting forced recruitment drives across various regions, including arbitrary arrests of young people and threats against family members. Local residents are reportedly fleeing their homes due to the military council’s pressure tactics. While the military council attempts to recruit new soldiers through local administrators, the local population continues to resist cooperation. The situation has created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty in the township, with residents expecting increased military presence and coercive actions in their communities.
