The Maraland Administrative Council/Maraland Defense Force (MTC/MDF), a resistance group in Chin State, announced on April 8 that all adult Mara people will be required to enlist in military service for the resistance.

On April 4, MTC/MDF troops reportedly arrived at a football tournament involving Mara ethnic villages in Yaka Village, Paletwa Township, Chin State, and forcibly took away more than 100 Mara youths. The group has since issued a statement declaring that all adult Mara people must serve in the military.

“We’ve received reports that fully armed Mara forces showed up during a football tournament involving several Mara villages and took away young spectators. We’re still working to confirm how many were taken,” a Paletwa resident told Chin World.

Some older adults who were captured were later released by the MTC/MDF, but more than 100 youths, including some minors, were taken away.

There have been calls within Mara communities for the release of those who were detained, but the MTC/MDF has not responded.

In its April 8 statement, the MTC/MDF said it is moving forward with its decision to require all adult Mara people to serve in the military and urged all Mara people to cooperate.

The statement added that, at a time when resistance forces are countering the junta’s escalating offensives, the MTC/MDF also needs to replenish its ranks to respond the enemy effectively.

The MTC/MDF announced on April 8 that the Maraland Security Military Service Law, negotiated at the Second Mara People’s Assembly, requires every adult resident of Maraland to serve in the military, and it urged the Mara people to fully participate.