The junta announced that it has started recruiting and training its fifth batch of conscripts in Mon State.
On 3 September 2024, officials led by the junta-appointed Mon State Chief Minister, U Aung Kyi Thein, visited the No. 6 Education School military training school under the junta’s Southeast Regional Command in Mawlamyine Township, Mon State.
There, the officials met new recruits who had been conscripted as part of the fifth batch of conscripts and were undergoing military training. They provided cash support to the trainees.
The junta has not disclosed how many people have already been conscripted in Mon State as part of the fifth conscription batch, but footage broadcast by the junta seems to indicate that, so far, over 100 have been conscripted in the fifth conscription batch.
Nai Moin Sai, spokesperson for the Mon State Federal Council (MSFC), a Mon revolutionary political organisation, explained that some unscrupulous Mon State politicians are exploiting the armed resistance’s weakness in Mon State to collaborate with the junta and forcibly conscript Mon youths.
He said: "In many parts of the country, the junta cannot conscript young people at will. However, the situation in Mon State is disappointing. We must acknowledge that the relative weakness of our armed resistance is a contributing factor. Meanwhile, some politicians in Mon State are collaborating with the junta to enforce conscription. Notably, members of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) are working with the junta to force Mon youths, as well as young people from other ethnic groups, into military service.”
According to surveys conducted by independent research groups, including the New Rehmonnya Federated Force (NRFF), the junta recruited over 1,000 individuals in Mon State during the first four batches of conscription. Some conscripts from the first and second batches have already been deployed to the frontlines.
Dr. Thiri Mon Chan, a spokesperson for the Mon State Defence Force (MSDF) said: "What we want to say to the young people who have no choice but to attend military training for the fifth batch is that the war being waged by the coup junta is unjust and destined for inevitable defeat. We understand that these young people may be forcibly conscripted without the right to refuse or give consent. We urge them to desert the terrorist junta as soon as they have the opportunity.”
The Mon State conscripts are being trained at the No. 4 Military Advanced Training Depot (MATD-4) in Weakali Village, Thanbyuzayat Township, and the No. 9 Basic Military Training Depot (BMTD-9) in Thaton Township, both in Mon State.
According to a report by the Burma Affairs and Conflict Study (BACS), the junta has designated 21 training depots and academies nationwide to train both voluntarily and forcibly recruited individuals, and it has already conscripted over 10,000 young people as it tries to replenish its army's depleted numbers.
