Key facts
- Myanmar's military junta is reportedly abducting young people for forced military service.
- Authorities are allegedly arresting individuals aged 18-35 to meet recruitment quotas.
- Leaked documents show orders to aggressively fulfill military recruitment quotas.
- An estimated 100,000 recruits have been conscripted since early 2024, many via coercion.
- A man was allegedly sold by a ward official for 4 million kyats to fill a recruitment quota.
- International rights groups accuse Myanmar's military of abducting civilians.
Authorities in Myanmar have been ordered to aggressively fulfill the military's recruitment quotas, leading to widespread fear of abduction and extortion among young people, according to reports.
In Hpa-An, the capital of southern Karen state, young people are reportedly afraid to go out after dark due to arbitrary arrests by plain-clothed members and supporters of the Myanmar junta. These individuals are allegedly forcing people in their teens, 20s, and 30s into military service.
Leaked documents seen by BBC Burmese indicate that authorities have been instructed to meet recruitment quotas, bolstering the junta's ranks amid ongoing conflict with ethnic militias and resistance movements. Many young men are fleeing the country or staying home before dusk to avoid conscription.
Myanmar has been embroiled in a civil war since the military coup in February 2021. The junta recently enacted a mandatory conscription law requiring all men aged 18-35 and women aged 18-27 to serve at least two years, with refusal punishable by up to five years in prison. Maj Naung Yoe, a military affairs official at the Myanmar Defense and Security Institute and a former military officer, described the law as one of the most severe actions against the civilian population since the coup.
An estimated 100,000 young recruits have been conscripted since early 2024, with many allegedly coerced, extorted, or abducted. Naung Yoe stated that security forces track young people's movements, arrest them under the pretext of eligibility, extort money through threats, and conduct arrests during inspections.
The Myanmar government's Central Body for Summoning People's Military Servants declined to comment on the allegations of forced recruitment and abductions.
International rights groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Fortify Rights have also accused Myanmar's military of abducting civilians for forced service. Myanmar Witness research revealed a significant rise in missing-person advertisements on Facebook between 2021 and 2025, with men and boys constituting the majority of reported missing persons. They concluded that recruitment often occurs through detention, coercion, and disappearance rather than formal call-ups.
In one case, Ma Moe San Pan reported that her husband, Phyo Wai, was taken by her cousin to a ward administration office and then sold to another ward for 4 million kyats ($900) to fill its recruitment quota. She was later scammed out of an additional 4.5 million kyats by individuals falsely promising his release. The ward administrator, U Maung Maung Lwin, admitted that transfers between townships occur when local quotas are not met but denied any money was involved in such cases.
Ma Moe San Pan has filed police complaints but was denied inclusion of human trafficking charges, as the law requires the sale to be abroad. Her case highlights how pressure from higher levels of the regime has created incentives for illicit markets for recruits, with security officials allegedly arresting youth at checkpoints, ambushing commuters, and using fake job advertisements. Naung Yoe described these practices as 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 intent to sell them for military conscription.