Using the excuse of carrying out overnight guest checks, junta soldiers in Tanintharyi Town are searching houses at all times of day and abducting and conscripting young men they find.

In the first two weeks of February 2025 junta troops, working with junta-appointed ward administrators in Tanintharyi Region’s Tanintharyi Town abducted at least 17 young men during surprise house searches conducted under the pretext of checking on overnight guests.

Rather than restricting such inspections to the evenings, they are now being carried out at all times of day and are being used as an excuse to search for young men to conscript.

A woman with knowledge of the arrests explained that junta soldiers in Tanintharyi Town are not just arresting people on trumped up charges and then conscripting them. They are also going to the houses of young men with previous criminal records and conscripting them

She said: “There has been a rise in the arrests of young people lately, primarily on charges of drug use. Those with criminal records are being taken from their homes, arrested and often forced to choose between joining the military or going to prison”

About 10 of the abducted youths have been taken to the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 557 base in Aukkin Village, near Tanintharyi Town, according to a source close to the family of one of the abducted youths.

Fewer people are going out in the evening or at night in Tanintharyi Town, following these forced conscriptions.

A Tanintharyi Town resident said to KIC: “Previously, there were no incidents of arrests for conscription in the town area. Recently, we've been hearing reports of abductions starting in Tanintharyi Town as well, which has caused people to stay indoors more. There are also very few nighttime activities now. It's not like it was before.”

In Bokepyin Township, adjoining Tanintharyi Township to the south, the junta is employing the same tactics of using overnight guest checks to search houses and abducting and conscripting any young men they find during the searches. As in Tanintharyi Town these tactics have created an atmosphere of fear amongst the local population that is making it hard for people to carry out their normal day-to-day activities.