Junta soldiers and police officers have increased their abductions of civilians for conscription in many Mon State townships.
Since early May 2025, the junta has been stepping up its abductions of young people, especially targeting them when they are out in the evening. They have also targeted petty criminals such as drug users and people violating local orders, such as the ban on two men riding a motorcycle together in designated zones. Arrests have also been made during house searches carried out under the pretext of looking for unregistered overnight guests.
In an even more troubling development, the junta has been raiding workplaces and abducting young people from them during the day, as well as abducting people from the streets during the day, for instance as they are walking in their own neighbourhoods.
Junta troops often demand hefty ransoms to release abducted individuals. If families cannot afford the payment and the victims are of conscription age, they are forcibly enlisted as new conscripts, according to Mon State residents.
A resident of Bilin Township, Mon State, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed to Than Lwin Times that the junta is actively hunting down and abducting young people from their workplaces.
He said: “A resident of Bilin Township, Mon State, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed to Than Lwin Times that the junta is actively hunting down and abducting young people from their workplaces.
He said: “On 14 May, soldiers came and took away four young men — carpenters and masons — from Yaetwinkone Village in the Taungsun Village Tract. No one knows where they were taken. It’s very likely they were abducted for conscription.”
Around 100 people have been abducted by the junta during the first two weeks in May and most of them have yet to be released, according to data collated by Than Lwin Times, which is likely to underestimate the number of abductions.
The abductions are not just to conscript people, soldiers are also abducting people to extort money from their families and if they are poor having to pay such ransoms for the return of their loved ones can cause severe hardship, according to a Ye Township resident who wanted to remain anonymous.
He said: “In Ye Township, soldiers are mostly abducting people just to make money. Families are often forced to negotiate through junta-appointed authorities to get their loved ones back, and it usually costs around 600,000 kyats per person. Those who are struggling financially often have to mortgage or sell everything they have to pay the ransom.”
According to sources close to the junta, abducted individuals are often threatened by soldiers under various legal pretexts and extorted for money. Those who cannot pay are sent to military training camps for conscription.
Due to the junta's widespread abductions, people in Mon State no longer feel safe even within their own communities. Amid ongoing economic hardship, many are also setting aside money in case they need to pay ransoms.
Even business owners in Mon State are expressing concern over the latest wave of junta abductions. They have caused young people to flee Mon State en masse which has created a significant shortage of skilled workers and hindered business operations in the region.
Whilst the junta has been busy abducting, extorting and conscripting young people in Mon State, it has made little effort to prevent crimes or apprehend criminals. This has led to a surge in thefts, burglaries and robberies which are now happening nearly every day.
According to a 15 May 2025 report by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), since the February 2021 coup, the junta has arrested nearly 3000,000 people across Myanmar and of those, around 220,000 are still being held in custody.
