Facing chronic manpower shortages and mounting battlefield setbacks, Myanmar’s military junta is intensifying forced conscription abductions while launching a propaganda campaign claiming hundreds of anti-regime fighters are surrendering, according to resistance sources and military defectors.

Junta state media recently reported that 322 members of the People’s Defence Force (PDF) "entered the legal fold" between late August and early September across regional military commands in Mandalay, Sagaing, and Mon State.

Regime mouthpieces claimed the fighters laid down their arms due to declining morale, internal discrimination, and junta offensives.

Resistance groups have dismissed the claims, stating that those featured in state media broadcasts are not authentic PDF members.

Resistance commanders urged comrades who lost contact with their units during active operations to re-establish communications through official channels.

On the ground, junta troops, police, and allied Pyusawhti militia members have escalated forced recruitment drives, abducting civilians from streets and residential areas in major urban centers, including Yangon and Mandalay, to satisfy monthly conscription quotas.

Military defectors and analysts view the regime’s surrender narrative as a coordinated psychological warfare strategy designed to sow internal division and divert public attention from severe military defeats across multiple fronts.

"The junta is using psychological warfare to spread the narrative that it is crushing the revolution," said Zay Ya, a former Air Force sergeant who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM).

He noted that the propaganda push escalated immediately after a major ambush on Sept. 2, when Kachin Independence Army (KIA) forces heavily damaged a junta river flotilla near Bhamo, capturing more than 100 personnel as prisoners of war.