In Paletwa Township, Chin State, the Arakan Army (AA) and its political wing, the United League of Arakan (ULA), are conducting conscription targeting Chin residents, forcing many youths to flee.

The ULA/AA has mandated that every Chin household in Paletwa Township with males aged 18 to 40 must provide one person for conscription. Paletwa Township is currently under AA control.

In the northern Paletwa Township villages of Peinhnetapin, Ngashar, Kywaythaung, and nearby settlements, as well as the southern villages of Laungkadu, Toemawa, Yimawa, Aungthaewa, and Hnamadar, the ULA/AA has informed residents that each household must provide a conscript. This marks the first time the AA has begun recruiting Chin ethnic people, a Paletwa resident said.

“The AA has told locals that each household must send one male between 18 and 40. But in some places, it has even taken boys as young as 14 or 15. That’s why so many young men are running away. The AA has carried out conscription in Paletwa before, but until now it only recruited Arakan (Rakhine) people. This is the first time it’s taking Chin youths. Just yesterday (December 2), two Chin youths who were heading to the mainland for work were stopped at an AA checkpoint. Instead of letting them pass, the AA detained them and took them for conscription,” he told Chin World.

Because of AA conscription, young people from Paletwa Township have fled to towns such as Samee and Matupi in Chin State, while others have crossed the border into India’s Mizoram State, according to locals.

Paletwa Township, in southern Chin State, was captured by the AA on January 14, 2024, and the group has since begun operating its own administrative apparatus.