"Don't Go Out After Sunset"... Fear of Forced Conscription as Young Men Are Seized on Myanmar's Streets

Nearly 100,000 conscripted in two and a half years as abduction accounts mount
Allegations of "human trafficking" schemes in which young people are sold off

As forced conscription by Myanmar’s military junta intensifies, more young men are avoiding going out at night. In some areas, reports have emerged of so-called “human trafficking” schemes in which young men are seized on the streets or handed over to military authorities in other regions to meet recruitment quotas.

Myanmar border guards who crossed into Bangladesh to escape armed clashes in February 2024. Getty Images

According to the BBC on the 12th (local time), in Hpa-an, the capital of southern Myanmar’s Karen State, the warning “Don’t go outside after sunset” has recently become something of a rule of daily life among young, healthy men.

A 26-year-old man who works as a tuk-tuk (three-wheeled motorized taxi) driver in Hpa-an told the BBC, “I’m worried, but I have no choice but to go out if I want to work.” He added, “My family keeps calling and telling me not to take passengers far away.” He said, “People are terrified. Some people I know have been taken away, too.”

Local residents said that cases continue to occur in which junta officials and supporters dressed in civilian clothes arbitrarily seize young people in their teens, 20s and 30s on the streets and force them into military service.

Conscription expanded amid troop shortages... Around 100,000 recruited in two and a half years

Leaked documents obtained by BBC Myanmar reportedly contain instructions ordering local authorities to actively meet their military recruitment quotas.

Myanmar’s military has faced troop shortages as it continues to wage a civil war against pro-democracy forces and ethnic armed groups since the 2021 coup. In response, the junta introduced mandatory military service in 2024, requiring men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 to serve for up to two years. Those who refuse to enlist can face up to five years in prison.

An estimated 100,000 young people have been conscripted over the past two and a half years. During this period, numerous cases of conscription through threats, coercion and abduction have also been reported. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have also raised concerns about cases in which civilians are abducted and forced into military service.

A soldier sits inside a military vehicle in downtown Yangon, Myanmar, on February 2, 2021. The Economic Times

An analysis by Myanmar Witness, an organization that collects and investigates evidence of human rights violations by Myanmar’s military junta, of 477 Facebook posts about missing people from 2021 to 2025 found that, as of January, reports of missing persons had surged from four in 2021 to 82 in 2025. Many of the missing were men and boys.

“Paid 2.5 million won to hand over a conscription target”... Alleged “human trafficking” scheme

There are also signs of so-called “human trafficking” schemes in which people targeted for conscription are handed over in exchange for money. A woman living in Yangon alleged that in May 2025, her husband, then 33, was taken by a relative to a local administrative office and then transferred to another region to be counted toward its conscription quota. She said her husband had been traded for 4 million kyat (about 2.5 million won) to help meet the quota. The local administrative chief acknowledged involvement in handing her husband over to the military recruitment authorities but denied allegations that money had changed hands.

In August, a fire department official in Yangon and his son-in-law were also arrested on suspicion of abducting four young men and trying to sell them for conscription. They were reportedly found to have lured the young men to a house by promising them jobs and then held them captive.

Naung Yo, an associate of the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security who served in the military and joined the anti-junta Civil Disobedience Movement, alleged, “Lower-level administrative agencies, military officials and criminal groups seize young people and hand them over to military units or regional commands that are short of troops, or trade them in place of wealthy people who pay to avoid conscription.”

Some have also noted that economically vulnerable groups are bearing a heavier burden from forced conscription. The BBC reported that fear of forced conscription is driving young people to move to other regions or neighboring countries such as Thailand, further intensifying population movements and labor shortages within Myanmar. Myanmar’s military junta did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment on the allegations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.