Local residents and parents of arrested youths have reported that the military is conducting forced porter arrests of young people visiting the Shwe Myint Tin Mountain Festival in Yamaethin, Mandalay Region. Starting from March 12, the military has been arresting young festival-goers and demanding ransoms of 4.5 million kyats per person from families who can afford it. Reports confirm that six youths from Inpingyi village, two from Nyaunglaypine village, and numerous others from surrounding villages have been detained as forced porters, with the total number of arrests continuing to rise.
At the military checkpoint south of Inzin village, soldiers are systematically arresting young people passing through the area, allowing releases only upon payment of 4.5 million kyats per person. Additionally, in Myittha Township’s Ywa Khaing Gyi district, the military is conducting daily porter arrests in villages, forcing young residents to flee to safety. Since early March, the military has been raiding most villages in the Ywa Khaing Gyi district of Myittha Township, entering homes to arrest young people for forced labor.
In Kyaukpadaung Township, village administrators from both Ma Gyi Taing and Kine village tracts are demanding military service fees and threatening to conduct home raids to arrest those who cannot pay. The administrators, including Phoe Aung from Ma Gyi Taing and former serviceman Than Nyein from Kine village tract, are using household registration lists to forcibly collect military service fees and intimidate those who cannot afford to pay. This has resulted in widespread displacement as young people flee their homes to avoid arrest.
In Man Kyar village of Kyaunggon Township in the Ayeyarwady Region, military-appointed administrators and hundred-household heads are conducting forced military service draws and threatening to arrest family members if selected youths are not present at home. This systematic campaign of forced recruitment and porter arrests has created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty, leading to the displacement of young people throughout these regions as they attempt to evade military persecution and forced service.
