Sittwe: Over a dozen youths have gone missing in the last three months in Sittwe. It is believed they were conscripted by the Burmese Army, said an elder from Sittwe.

"My friend Maung Lon's son went missing in August. He has not been able to find him yet. The family members believe he has been recruited by the army," he said.

Maung Lon is a businessman living on Minba Gri Road in Sittwe.

According to a family source, the 14-year-old Aung Myin Naing went missing one day when he had gone out of his house. Family members have not received any information about his whereabouts.

"Maung Lon complained about his son's disappearance at the police station, but the police cannot look for the youth. I had heard of similar cases having been filed at the police station in Sittwe," the elder said.

In Sittwe, over a dozen youths have gone missing, some of them students, he added.

Recently, a youth from Kandaw Gyi Ward near Thalondaw Dat temple went missing but family members found him at an army recruitment unit in Sittwe. Army authorities shifted the boy to Mrauk U before his parents could take him home.

Ko Maung Than, a teacher from Maw Late Ward, confirmed that a few youths have been missing in Sittwe recently and that they were most likely recruited by the army.

Residents in Sittwe are concerned about their children's safety because the army has been conscripting teenagers.