In Hpa-An, Myanmar, young men live in constant fear of being forcibly recruited into the military by junta supporters roaming the streets. Zaw Min, a 26-year-old tuk tuk driver, is among those at risk, as family members frequently remind him to avoid late-night work and suspicious passengers. The junta has been aggressively meeting recruitment quotas across jurisdictions since enacting mandatory conscription laws in response to ongoing civil conflict, leading to the abduction of an estimated 100,000 young recruits over two-and-a-half years.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-10,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
- Published
You do not stay out after dark if you're young and able-bodied in Hpa-An, the capital of Myanmar's southern Karen state.
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you → publish → state
In recent months this has become conventional wisdom.
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this → become → months
But Zaw Min has no choice.
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Min → have → choice
"I worry, but I have to go out to work," says the 26-year-old tuk tuk driver, who asked that his real name be omitted out of fear for his safety.
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name → worry → safety
"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...
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I → call → passenger
I have to be vigilant all the time.
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I → have → ?
"People are panicked and frightened," he explains.
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he → frighten → ?
"Some people I know have been taken."
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I → know → people
Locals say 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.
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members → say → service
According to leaked documents seen by BBC Burmese, authorities have been ordered to aggressively fulfil the military's recruitment quotas across jurisdictions, bolstering the junta's ranks as it endures a war of attrition against ethnic militias, pro-democracy groups and civilian-led resistance movements.
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it → accord → militias
Many other "kids" his age have fled, he says – to Thailand, or the homes of relatives further afield.
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he → flee → relatives
Those who remain are often under strict instructions from their parents: be home before dusk.
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who → remain → dusk
Myanmar has been locked in a bloody civil war since February 2021, when its own military launched a coup d'etat and ousted democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
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military → lock → Kyi
Three years later, following a string of humiliating losses, plummeting morale and soaring rates of desertion, the junta enacted a mandatory conscription law that required all men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 to serve at least two years under military command.
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that → follow → command
Those who refuse face up to five years in prison.
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who → refuse → prison
The enactment of the law "represents one of the most severe and impactful actions taken against the entire civilian population since the military coup", according to Maj Naung Yoe, military affairs official at the Myanmar Defense and Security Institute (MDSI) and a former military officer who defected and joined the anti-coup Civil Disobedience Movement.
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who → represent → Movement
Hpa-An is the latest to be caught in a dragnet that's already ensnared an estimated 100,000 young recruits over the past two-and-a-half years – many of them via coercion, extortion and abductions.
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that → catch → coercion
"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," Naung Yoe says.
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Yoe → track → inspections
The BBC contacted the Myanmar government's Central Body for Summoning People's Military Servants regarding incidents mentioned in this story, including the forced recruitment of conscripts and reports of abductions allegedly carried out in recent months.
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BBC → contact → months
They said they had no comment on the matter.
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they → say → matter
With the mandatory conscription law, the junta has established a human supply chain to sustain its armed forces.
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junta → establish → forces
And it appears to have worked.
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it → appear → ?
Observers note that reinforcements have played a critical role in helping the regime claw back more territory.
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regime → note → territory
And as more youths evade conscription – either to join the resistance or simply avoid armed conflict against their fellow countrymen – the junta's recruitment methods have become ever more extreme.
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methods → evade → countrymen
International rights groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Fortify Rights say Myanmar's military is abducting civilians and forcing them into military service.
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military → say → service
In July, open-source research organisation Myanmar Witness revealed that they had analysed hundreds of missing-person advertisements collected from Facebook between 2021 and 2025.
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they → reveal → 2021
Researchers found that missing person notices for January rose from four in 2021, pre-coup, to 82 in 2025, post-conscription law.
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notices → find → 2025
"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," they concluded.
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they → appear → families
Men and boys constituted the majority of reported missing persons.
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Men → constitute → persons
"They are spreading rumours all over the neighbourhood that I sold my husband."
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I → spread → husband
Ma Moe San Pan sobs the words through gulps of air.
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Pan → sob → air
She is sitting in her kitchen, at home in Yangon, where on the morning of 8 May 2025 she saw her 33-year-old husband Phyo Wai for the last time.
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she → sit → time
"We had an argument, and afterwards he left home," she recalls.
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she → have → home
"I was upset and told my cousin about what had happened."
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what → upset → cousin
Ma Moe San Pan's cousin worked at the local ward administration office, and she asked him to bring her husband back.
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she → work → husband
It was two days later that Phyo Wai called her, from a military recruitment centre on the other side of the city.
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Wai → call → city
The cousin had taken him to the ward office which had sold him on to another ward for 4 million kyats ($900; £680) to fill that ward's recruitment quota, Ma Moe San Pan says.
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Pan → take → quota
The BBC was unable to reach Ma Moe San Pan's cousin.
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BBC → reach → cousin
In a desperate attempt to bring him back, Ma Moe San Pan was then scammed out of 4.5 million kyats by strangers who falsely promised his release.
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who → bring → release
U Maung Maung Lwin, the administrator of the ward to which Phyo Wai was taken, later admitted to the BBC that he had played a role in sending him to the military recruitment authorities.
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he → take → authorities
…and 28 more, not listed.
The Aporia
