In Yangon Region’s Thaketa, Hlaing Tharyar, South Dagon, and Mingalar Taung Nyunt townships, military forces and administrative bodies have begun recruiting young people for the 11th military service batch while conducting extortion schemes. In Thaketa Township’s Shwe Kyin Thar ward, the administrator-led team has been collecting 5,000 kyats per household under the guise of military service funds, while hundred-household leaders are compiling lists of young people in the ward.
In Hlaing Tharyar Township’s Ward 5, Administrator Nyunt Tin and his wife have been sending lists of young people to the military forces and ordering arbitrary arrests of civilians who disagree with them. In South Dagon Township’s Ward 54, Administrator Thiha Myoe Naing (aka) Naing Dagon has begun forcibly recruiting young people passing through the ward as porters and making arrests. He has also been leading the arrests of protest participants and using the ward office as an interrogation center, resulting in civilian deaths.
In Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township’s Kan North Ward, administrative office members Nyo Min Lwin, Soe Myint, and Soe Tint have been collecting 100,000 kyats per household for the 11th military service batch. They have been threatening to forcibly recruit young people from households that refuse to pay, compelling civilians to make the payments. The administrators have been using the ward office for torture and interrogation, leading to civilian casualties. In December 2024, they even arrested a monk from Ward 54’s Nway Ni Street, forcibly disrobed him, handcuffed him, and handed him over to the military forces after claiming he was on the military service list.
Additionally, there have been continuous disappearances of young people throughout Yangon Region. Ko Aung Min Htun from Thingangyun Township, 20-year-old Maung Ye Lin Myat from Yankin Township, and 17-year-old Maung Way Htet Aung from Hlegu Township have all gone missing after leaving their homes, losing contact with their family members. These disappearances have occurred in late February, raising concerns among local residents about the systematic targeting of youth by military forces and their affiliated administrators.
