The Myanmar junta is arresting young people in Magway Region and sending them directly to the front lines without any training, according to Magway Town residents.

The people this is happening to are not on the conscription list. These youths are arrested after having their phones or National Registration Cards (NRCs) checked by junta soldiers. Then they are directly sent to the front lines, but unlike those going through the official conscription process, they do not receive any training before being sent to the front lines.

A Magway town resident said to Than Lwin Times: “Phones are checked on the streets. If anything suspicious is found [on their phones] people are detained. Junta soldiers then demand millions of kyats (MMK) from the arrested and if they cannot pay, they are sent directly to the front lines.”

They also said that a young person who was arrested whilst travelling from Magway Town to Taungdwingyi Town, in Magway Region, was sent to the front lines on the Magway Region/Rakhine State border less than a week later without having received any military training.

In Pwintbyu Township, Magway Region, junta ward administrators are collecting bribes from people who want to avoid being conscripted, but they threaten to send anyone arrested after 8:00pm straight to the front lines.

In Salin Township, Magway Region, the junta soldiers are raiding young people’s homes to conscript them. Some are being released after paying over 5 million MMK, whilst those who cannot afford such an exorbitant sum are being sent straight to the front lines.