Young and middle-aged men are being rounded up in Hpa-An City, the Karen State capital, and being forcibly conscripted and sent to Taungkalay Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 201 for military training .
The men are being rounded up by junta soldiers, junta-appointed ward administrators and 100-house-group elders, according to a local witness.
He said: “The administrator of Ward No. 9 in Hpa-An is currently leading the forced recruitment of young people for conscription. He is notorious for his cruel actions, having previously overseen conscription, the arrest of civilians for forced labor, and other abuses. Those recruited were sent to LIB 201. The target is to send 200 conscripts to the battalion, and at least 10 have already been taken. The junta authorities will continue to forcibly take young people until the target is met. Administrators in other wards are also carrying out similar recruitment drives.”
KIC has reached out to the relevant authorities to verify the claims that ward administrators are leading the arrest of young people for conscription, but has yet to receive a reply.
In mid-December, two employees of a building materials store in Hpa-An were arrested while delivering supplies during working hours and taken to LIB 201. They were later released after payments of 10 million MMK each were made, according to another resident of Hpa-An City.
He said to KIC: “On 15 or 16 December, two young workers from a building materials store were arrested while transporting supplies by car and were forcibly dragged to LIB 201. They were only released after paying 10 million MMK each. There were even disputes between the group that arrested them and the one that released them, as the conscription quota had not yet been met.”
Recently, junta troops have also started arresting and conscripting young people travelling to Karen state from other regions, at junta checkpoints at the Thanlwin (Salween) River Bridge, which connects Yangon and Hpa-An, and at the Zarthapyin Bridge over the Gyaing River, on the road connecting Mawlamyine and Hpa-An, according to Hpa-An residents.
