Junta-appointed community administrators in Mon State’s Ye Town are forcing male residents to attend military training so that they can serve in militias, saying that it is necessary for community security.
The military training started on 16 September 2024 at the Military Operations Command 19 (MOC-19) in Ye Town and will continue for two weeks, according to a source close to the administrators.
Some of the male inhabitants of Ye Town and nearby villages, including Asin, Abaw, Chaungwa, and Hangan, aged from 35 to 65 years, have been summoned to attend training.
According to the source close to the Ye Township Administration Office, if the administrators cannot find the required number of recruits they will be forced to serve themselves.
The source said: "The junta has pressured ward administrators to recruit trainees this week. Administrators are being warned that failing to meet the junta's quotas could lead to them serving in junta battalions. As a result, they are desperately seeking trainees by any means necessary.”
It is not known how many people are currently undergoing training, but it is believed that at least five individuals from each ward and village have been called up and that the junta is paying them 8,500 MMK a day.
The junta has said that once the men have completed training they will be assigned to People’s Security teams, essentially armed militias, that are expected to be formed soon and deployed to carry out various security roles in the community.
Some speculate that they will be used to provide security during the upcoming junta-organised election.
“According to the course officials and meeting minutes, trainees will be allowed to go home after two weeks of training. They are required to report when necessary. There is a possibility that the junta may use these individuals trained in People’s Security team training courses for elections,” said the aforementioned source.
Currently, in Ye Township, junta soldiers are arresting people for no reason and detaining them at unknown locations. There are fears that the detained people may be forcibly conscripted into the army or forced to undergo People’s Security team training.
The junta established the People's Security and Counter-Terrorism Central Administrative Team on 16 August 2024 to oversee recruiting and training of civilians for People’s Security teams. Since then, it has been working on the formation of People’s Security teams, at the township, ward, and village levels.
Local resistance forces, including the Mon State Federal Council's Department of Defense (MSFC-DoD), the Mon State Revolutionary Force (MSRF), and the Mon State Defense Force (MSDF) issued a joint statement on 2 September 2024 warning the public not to join the People's Security teams being established by the junta.
