Sources close to Myanmar’s junta revealed that 40 trainees fled the No. 6 Basic Training Depot in Pathein Township, Ayeyarwady Region, in the early hours of 7 December.

While 24 managed to escape, 16 were recaptured after being reported by a junta supporter in a nearby village.

The trainees, conscripted under the military’s controversial Conscription Law, fled around 1:03 am.

According to sources, some escapees were spotted by villagers in Taung Ya Kone, near the Southwestern Regional Military Command headquarters, who alerted the village administrator. Police and township administrative staff subsequently apprehended 16 of the escapees.

“There are many veterans and junta supporters in the surrounding villages. When the trainees entered the village at night, military supporters reported them to the authorities, who then handed them over to the military,” said a source close to junta forces.

All the trainees who escaped had completed their six-week training and had recently been assigned to the front lines, receiving salaries from the military. It remains unclear if those recaptured are facing punishment or investigation.

A Pathein resident states that the strength of the junta troops near the Southwestern Regional Military Command has significantly diminished, with the majority now consisting of former soldiers.

The State Administrative Council (SAC) recently announced plans for a draft law mandating compulsory military service for all adult men and women in Myanmar.

Since the recruitment initiative began in April, the military has been targeting young people aged 18 to 35, with each session training 5,000 recruits with an annual goal of 60,000 trainees.

Many young people fled the country or joined revolutionary forces in response to the conscription law.

Revolutionary groups report that thousands of conscripts aged between 18 and 35 from Ayeyarwady Region, are undergoing military training, and are being forced to join the front lines.