Since mid-August, the junta has conducted raids in Kale Town, Kale Township, Sagaing Region, abducting more than 50 men for conscription, according to locals.

Between August 17 and September 1, junta soldiers, allied Pyu-Saw-Htee militia, and police personnel raided homes and abducted at least 50 men in Kale Town’s Mingalar Ooyin, Nyaungpinthar, Aung Mingalar, Chan Myae Aung Si, Pinlon, Aung Thitsar, and Thazin wards.

“The house-to-house abductions are mostly done by Pyu-Saw-Htee members. The soldiers usually don’t get directly involved, but they act as security. The men who are taken are often sent to the junta’s Military Training Depot 10. The junta is trying to conscript as many people as it can every day, and on some occasions, up to eight men have been taken in a single day,” said a Kale resident.

Those abducted are usually held temporarily at the Regional Military Administration headquarters and the Township Administration Office in Kale Town before being transferred to Military Training Depot 10, which is located near Sakhangyi Village on the Kale-Tamu Highway.

Reports that more than 50 men were abducted for conscription in Kale Town over just half a month are estimates, and locals said the actual number could be much higher.

Some local news agencies claimed that junta troops contacted the families of certain abductees, demanding 5 million MMK and a replacement in exchange for their release.

Those sent to Military Training Depot 10 undergo short-term military training before being deployed to frontline battlefields, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The junta is intensifying nationwide conscription for batch 16, forcing abducted young people to risk their lives on brutal battlefields solely for its own benefit.