In several villages across Taunggyi, Hopong, and Hsihseng townships in southern Shan State, residents are enduring severe hardship due to extortion disguised as various forms of taxation by the junta and its ally, the Pa-O National Organisation (PNO).
In Ponginn Village Tract in Hsihseng Township and Narhee Village Tract in Taunggyi Township, the junta and PNO have been extorting funds under the pretext of supporting military operations and a conscription drive since early February, a Ponginn resident told Shan Herald.
“Before, only the PNO militia collected money, not the junta. But starting this month, the junta also began demanding money, saying it’s for the conscription fund. People chosen for conscription who didn’t want to go have been forced to pay hundreds of thousands of MMK,” he said.
He added that in Ponginn Village Tract, 11 people have been designated for conscription, and junta troops are collecting an average of 20,000 kyat from each household to hire substitutes to take their place.
In Ponginn, the junta is collecting conscription funds, while the PNO has imposed its own separate taxes.
In Narhee Village Tract, locals joined the PNO after it promised they would be exempt from junta conscription. But in reality, the PNO sent them to the frontlines, a local who asked to remain anonymous told Shan Herald.
“People joined the PNO because they were afraid the junta would send them to the frontlines. But the PNO ended up sending them there anyway. In a certain village, 30 people were sent to the frontlines, and only one came back. The PNO kept all of this quiet,” he said.
The PNO has denied the allegations, saying it is not conscripting locals to send them to the frontlines.
“Our main purpose is to provide military training to villagers so they can protect their own communities. After completing the training, they return to their villages. There’s nothing wrong with attending military training to be prepared in case of danger from thugs or robbers,” Major Than Kywe of PNO told Shan Herald.
He added that the training period typically lasts between 45 days and six months, and said no training has been provided recently.
In Ponginn Village Tract, the PNO collects a security fee from residents every six months. In addition, residents face threats that anyone going out at night will be abducted for conscription. As a result, many Pa-O and Shan youths in the region have fled their homes.
To offset heavy losses and a decline in manpower caused by armed resistance fighting across the country, the junta enforced the conscription law on February 10, 2024. Under the law, it has the authority to conscript men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27.
The junta recruits 5,000 men in each conscription batch. On December 16, 2025, it launched its 20th batch, bringing the total number of conscripts recruited over the past two years to more than 100,000.
