The junta has forced lorry owners in Pathein City, Ayeyarwady Region to draw lots to see which of them will have to have their vehicles commandeered by the junta.
They were all forced to attend a meeting where they had to draw lots, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Previously, lorry owners in Pathein City frequently refused the junta when it tried to commandeer their vehicles because those who had supplied lorries to the junta had suffered significant losses. In response to such refusals the junta banned lorries from operating in Pathein City from 2 January 2025, according to lorry owners.
This forced them to agree to the lottery process.
One of the lorry owners said to NMG: “The junta is using the ban on our operations to coerce us. If we continue to defy the junta, it will resort to even harsher retaliation. In the end, the lorry owners agreed to draw lots and negotiated with the junta that the unfortunate winners would have to provide their vehicles for commandeering.”
Previously, the junta commandeered five lorries from Pathein City. One of those fell into a ravine, another was damaged by a landmine and another was forced to drive off-road which punctured all its tyres, resulting in heavy losses for its owner.
A source close to the lorry owners said: “The driver of the lorry that fell into the ravine was seriously injured and is still in the hospital, with his condition remaining critical and life-threatening. Since the ravine is located in a conflict zone, the vehicle has not yet been pulled out or recovered.”
Following these disasters, lorry owners wanted to refuse the junta’s demand for lorries due to the high risk of lorries being caught in crossfire in combat zones, drivers being injured and substantial economic losses.
But, under duress, lorry owners were forced to sign a contract saying that those selected by lottery would supply a lorry to the junta and if for some reason they could not supply a lorry they agreed to pay a fine of 2.5 million MMK. But, they could not just pay the fine in lieu of supplying a lorry, they also had to have a valid reason for not being able to provide a lorry.
Some lorry drivers chose to quit their jobs because if they ended up having to work for the junta they believed there was a high risk of being killed.
One of the drivers who quit said: “It wouldn’t be easy refusing to drive the lorry I’ve always driven just because it was commandeered in the lottery. So, I quit my job in advance [of the lottery]. I didn’t want to risk my life for the little money I could make from those dangerous trips.”
The junta has often commandeered lorries to travel to and from Pathein City to Gwa Township in Arakan (Rakhine State) and along the road from Pandaung Town in Arakan State to Taungup Town in Bago Region.
Since the Arakan Army (AA) captured Gwa Township on 29 December 2024, it has been conducting joint offensives alongside local people’s defence forces (PDF) factions along the border between Arakan State and Gwa Township in Ayeyarwady Region.
Fighting in that border area began on 2 January 2025 when the AA attacked the junta’s Baydar Checkpoint on the border between Arakan State and Ayeyarwady Region, about 30 miles (about 48km) from Ngathaingchaung Town in Ayeyarwady Region’s Yegyi Township.
