For the people of Hpa‑An, liking to stay out after dark has become a luxury no longer available. The town sits on the border of Myanmar’s chaotic Southern Karen state, where a brutal war for power has turned ordinary teenagers and young men into targets of a ruthless forced draft.
Plain‑clothed supporters of the military regime have been given orders to meet recruitment quotas by any means, triggering an upsurge in corruption, extortion and abductions. Men aged 18‑35 and women 18‑27 are now legally required to serve at least two years, with refusal punishable by five years in prison. The junta’s law, intended to swell its ranks in the summer of 2024, has inadvertently created a market for human trafficking — families now face a grim choice between paying bribes, risking exile or being swept up in a forced march to a training ground.
Leaked documents revealed that security forces and lower‑level officials have been hired to track and arrest young people at checkpoints, to lure them with fake job offers and then hold them in hidden detention rooms. One widowed woman, Ma Moe San Pan, detailed how her husband was sold to military recruiters by her cousin, after the cousin’s ward office filled a recruitment quota by transferring the man to another ward. The police denied any trafficking charges, saying that a human‑trafficking case can be filed only when a person is sold abroad.
Media reports and open‑source research have confirmed that, since the mandatory conscription law was introduced, the number of “missing person” notices on social media has exploded. In January alone, the count rose from four notices in 2021 to 82 in 2025. These reports strongly indicate that millions of men are being seized without due process.
While some wealthy families manage to pay bribes and avoid service, the bulk of conscripts come from marginalised communities. The junta’s desperation is evident in its tactics: armed soldiers intercept commuters, set up fake businesses to attract recruits, and accept payments for temporary release. The forces have lost ground to ethnic militias and civil resistance, and the conscription push came as a last‑ditch attempt to regain an advantage on the battlefield.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and others have condemned these practices as forced conscription, modern slavery, and human trafficking. The continued threats to youth, coupled with a splintered economy and ongoing fighting, are driving massive internal displacement and emigration to neighbouring countries.
