Over 2,000 people have been conscripted from Mon State since the activation of the Conscription Law just over a year ago on 10 February 2024.
According to data collated by Than Lwin Times, over 2,000 people were conscripted from Mon State in the first 10 rounds of conscription that were completed on 16 March 2025.
The last about 100 Mon State residents conscripted in the tenth round of conscription were transferred to the Southeast Region Military Command in Mawlamyine, the Mon State capital, on 16 March.
A source with a good knowledge of the junta’s conscription drive in Mon State who requested anonymity confirmed that most people conscripted as part of the 11th round of conscription, which started on 17 March 2025, have been abducted or forcibly conscripted.
He said to Than Lwin Times: “People who were drunk at KTV lounges on their way home, those returning from gambling at night, and individuals using drugs on the street were abducted by soldiers. The soldiers took their phones without explanation and forced them into their vehicles. These individuals were then transported to the conscription centres.”
As well as abducting young people from the street for conscription junta soldiers have also, on some occasions, entered Mon State homes to arrest people and take them away for conscription and military training.
In some Mon State towns rather than abduct people, junta appointed administrators have been collecting money from residents claiming that they will use any collected money to hire substitutes for the 11th round of conscription so that residents do not have to be conscripted.
In Mon State, once people have been conscripted they are sent to one of two training depots in the state. These are the Military Advanced Training Depot 4 (MATD 4) in Weakali Village, Thanbyuzayat Township, and the Basic Military Training Depot 9 (BATD 9) in Thaton Township.
Many young people from Mon State and other areas throughout Myanmar have fled abroad to escape conscription, which has exacerbated labour shortages in the country.
