Ward Administrators in Hlaingbwe Town, Hlaingbwe Township, Karen State are struggling to find enough conscripts after having been ordered to provide one conscript per month to meet their conscription quota.

Hlaingbwe Town consists of four wards and had a recorded population of 19,755 in March 2023.

For previous rounds of conscription in Hlaingbwe Town, the administrators of the town’s four wards only had to provide one conscript every three months from each ward. But, starting with this round of conscription, the eighth round, ward administrators will have to provide one conscript from each ward every month, according to a resident of Hlaingbwe Town.

She said: "Previously, conscripts were only required every three months. However, the junta has now mandated that conscripts be provided monthly, with no excuses allowed, possibly due to concerns about meeting the quota. This has forced administrators in the downtown wards to make urgent efforts to gather the required conscripts.”

This order only applies to the four wards of Hlaingbwe Town, wards A, B, C and D, where the junta is in complete control.

Similar demands have not been made in the villages of Hlaingbwe Township which is in Hpa-An District and mainly under the control of the Karen National Union (KNU). They have been exempted from providing conscripts.

As well as providing more recruits, the residents of Hlaingbwe Town also have to pay the ward administrators tens of thousands of MMK each month, allegedly to support conscripts, according to Hlaingbwe Town residents.

Many young people who are eligible for conscription but unwilling to serve the junta have escaped to areas controlled by ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) or sought refuge in Thailand.

The eighth round of conscription since the enforcement of the conscription law in February 2024 is currently underway.