Two youths who fled from a military recruitment center in the Sit Ke Kone neighborhood of Mawlamyine, Mon State, have been captured and returned to a military training school.
The individuals, one from Paung Township and the other from Thanbyuzayat Township, escaped on June 8 and were recaptured the same day.
“In this latest recruitment batch, the two fled while being assembled in Mawlamyine. They were found in Kadonsi Ward. When informed they had to resume training, the military junta took them back,” said a local resident.
After being detained at the Paung Township police station for eight days, they were transferred on June 16 to the No. 4 Military Advanced Training School in Waekali Village, Thanbyuzayat Township.
The military junta has threatened legal action, including imprisonment under military service laws, for those who do not attend training.
Human rights activists have condemned forced military recruitment, stating it violates human rights and constitutes a war crime by using civilians as human shields.
“People don’t want to bear arms. Forced recruitment is a war crime because locals are not trained in military tactics. They receive only about three months of training and are then forced into combat. It’s akin to sending them to their deaths, using them as human shields. This is a severe human rights violation,” said a representative from the Mon Human Rights Foundation.
According to the Mon Human Rights Foundation, 80% of the young people forcibly recruited in Mon State are undergoing military training, while the remaining 20% are daily wage laborers and migrant workers who paid to avoid conscription.
Currently, in Mon State, village administrative committees are reportedly offering monetary incentives for military service recruitment, and there have been instances of house-to-house efforts to forcibly conscript individuals.
