Young men live in fear of being snatched off the streets and sold to Myanmar's army
Young men in Myanmar are living in fear of forced conscription as the military junta aggressively enforces recruitment quotas to combat resistance movements. Reports indicate that authorities are using abductions and extortion to fill ranks following significant military losses.
Why it matters
The escalation of forced conscription highlights the deteriorating humanitarian situation and the junta's desperation amid a prolonged civil war.
Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Authorities in Myanmar have been ordered to aggressively fulfil the military's recruitment quotas, leading to corruption, extortion and abductions
You do not stay out after dark if you're young and able-bodied in Hpa-An, the capital of Myanmar's southern Karen state. In recent months this has become conventional wisdom.
"I worry, but I have to go out to work," says the 26-year-old tuk tuk driver, who asked that his real name be omitted out of fear for his safety. "My family call me all the time and remind me not to drive passengers too far; to be careful who I take as a passenger... I have to be vigilant all the time.
"People are panicked and frightened," he explains. "Some people I know have been taken."
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