Young men in Myanmar live in fear of being forcibly recruited into the army, with authorities ordered to meet recruitment quotas aggressively, leading to corruption, extortion, and abductions.
In Hpa-An, the capital of Myanmar's southern Karen state, it has become common knowledge not to stay out after dark if you are young and able-bodied. Zaw Min, a 26-year-old tuk tuk driver who asked for his real name to be omitted, says, "I worry, but I have to go out to work. My family call me all the time and remind me not to drive passengers too far; to be careful who I take as a passenger... I have to be vigilant all the time. People are panicked and frightened. Some people I know have been taken."
Locals report that plain-clothed members and supporters of the Myanmar junta have been roaming the streets of Hpa-An, arbitrarily arresting people in their teens, 20s, and 30s and forcing them into military service. Leaked documents seen by BBC Burmese indicate that authorities have been ordered to aggressively fulfill the military's recruitment quotas across jurisdictions, bolstering the junta's ranks as it engages in a war of attrition against ethnic militias, pro-democracy groups, and civilian-led resistance movements.
Zaw Min is the only one among his siblings of recruitment age. Many of his peers have fled to Thailand or the homes of relatives further afield. Those who remain are often under strict instructions from their parents: be home before dusk.
Myanmar has been embroiled in a civil war since February 2021, when the military staged a coup d'état and ousted democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Three years later, following significant losses, declining morale, and high desertion rates, the junta enacted a mandatory conscription law requiring all men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 to serve at least two years in the military. Refusal carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.
Maj Naung Yoe, a military affairs official at the Myanmar Defense and Security Institute (MDSI) and a former military officer who defected, stated that the enactment of the law "represents one of the most severe and impactful actions taken against the entire civilian population since the military coup."
An estimated 100,000 young recruits have been conscripted by the junta since early 2024. Hpa-An is the latest area caught in a dragnet that has already ensnared a significant number of young recruits over the past two-and-a-half years, many through coercion, extortion, and abductions.
Naung Yoe explains, "Security forces track young people's movements to arrest them, force them into service under the pretext of statutory military eligibility, extort money through threats of detention, and arrest individuals during guest-list inspections."
The Myanmar government's Central Body for Summoning People's Military Servants declined to comment when contacted by the BBC regarding incidents of forced recruitment and alleged abductions.
The mandatory conscription law has established a human supply chain for the junta's armed forces, which observers note has been critical in helping the regime regain territory. However, as more youths evade conscription, the junta's recruitment methods have become more extreme.
International rights groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Fortify Rights report that Myanmar's military is abducting civilians and forcing them into service. In July, the open-source research organization Myanmar Witness revealed that missing-person advertisements on Facebook between 2021 and 2025 showed a significant increase in notices for January, rising from four in 2021 to 82 in 2025 after the conscription law was enacted. Their research concluded that "in practice, much of [the Myanmar military's] recruitment appears to be carried out through detention, coercion, and disappearance rather than formal call-up, and often without notice to families." Men and boys constituted the majority of reported missing persons.
Ma Moe San Pan recounts the story of her husband, Phyo Wai, who was taken from their home in Yangon on May 8, 2025. She states that her cousin, who worked at the local ward administration office, took Phyo Wai to the office, which then sold him to another ward for 4 million kyats ($900; £680) to meet that ward's recruitment quota. Ma Moe San Pan was later scammed out of 4.5 million kyats by strangers who falsely promised her husband's release. U Maung Maung Lwin, the administrator of the ward to which Phyo Wai was taken, admitted to the BBC that he played a role in sending him to the military recruitment authorities, stating that transfers from other townships occur when local quotas cannot be met, but denied any money was involved. Phyo Wai had reportedly signed documents after being told they would help him.
Ma Moe San Pan has filed police complaints regarding the sale of her husband into military service and the money lost to scammers. The police accepted her complaint but refused to include human trafficking charges, stating that such a case could only be registered if a person was sold abroad.
This case highlights how pressure from higher levels of the regime has created perverse incentives. Surging demand and dwindling supply have fueled an illicit market for eligible recruits. Security officials are reportedly arresting youth at checkpoints, ambushing commuters, using fake job advertisements, and forcibly entering homes. Naung Yoe describes these practices as effectively transforming into a "modern-day slavery and human trafficking enterprise."
In late August, police in Yangon arrested a member of the Fire Services Department and his son-in-law for allegedly abducting four young men with the intention of selling them for military conscription. The commander reportedly lured the men with job offers to his house, where they were trapped in purpose-built detention rooms. He has been charged with kidnapping or abducting to wrongfully confine a person.
Naung Yoe states that "lower-level administrative bodies, military personnel and local criminal gangs employ diverse tactics to press-gang and arrest young people." He adds that they "sell these individuals to military units and regional commands facing manpower shortages, or traffic substitute recruits on behalf of wealthier individuals seeking to buy their way out of service."
While conscription orders are meant to be indiscriminate, wealthier individuals can pay to avoid the draft and have a more financially vulnerable person take their place. This means the poor disproportionately bear the burden.
Naung Yoe believes these practices are escalating due to difficulties in meeting monthly recruitment quotas and the lucrative financial profits from recruit trading. Dr. Sandeep Singh, a research fellow at the National University of Singapore, suggests that the hardening fist of forced conscription also reveals the junta's desperation for manpower, calling it "another step in the junta's efforts to enlist unwilling youth in a conflict that underscores its embattled position in the civil war."
The climate of routine abductions has created further difficulties for Myanmar's youth, who are already affected by years of civil war. Many fear being forced to fight in a conflict they oppose, leading to massive internal displacement, severe labor shortages, and people fleeing to neighboring countries.
Observers suggest the junta is using the conscription law as another tool of subjugation. A statement from the MDSI in June noted, "The generals have benefited by using military law to make the citizens fight against each other."
