People who were abducted from Kale (Kalay) Town in Sagaing Region, forcibly conscripted and sent for military training in October 2024 have now completed their training and been deployed to the frontlines.
After being abducted in Kale Town conscripts are sent to Military Training Depot 10 in Kale Town where they have to complete three months of training before being deployed to frontlines, including in Sagaing Region and Chin State, according to a Kale Town resident who has been monitoring the situation.
He said to Khonumthung: “Individuals conscripted from downtown Kale and the surrounding areas were taken to Military Training Depot 10. After completing their training, they were flown to other towns. At the airport, I saw their families crying uncontrollably. Those who have finished their training have already been sent to other towns.”
Since the conscription law was activated in February 2024 there have been nine rounds of conscription and 185, mostly young, men have been conscripted from Kale Town since then, in the sixth to ninth round of conscriptions.
In the sixth round of conscription in October 2024, 45 men were conscripted from Kale Town. In the seventh round in November it was 50 men, in the eighth round it was 30 men and 60 in the ninth round that started in January 2025 and finished on 17 February, when the tenth round started. The tenth round of conscriptions is now ongoing throughout the country.
On the last day of the ninth round of conscription, 16 February, three middle-aged men were arrested by junta troops near the Nankalein Bridge on the Kale-Natchaung Road just outside Kale Town in Kale Township. Two of them were released after their families each paid 5 million MMK, according to a source close to the families.
The source said: “There is no alternative route to avoid crossing the bridge. The soldiers were waiting there and then abducted them. The three abducted are middle-aged men, two were released after their families paid 5 million MMK each. One, who couldn't afford the payment, is still being held by the junta troops. The detainees were kept at a local office and their families were allowed to visit them. Once the monthly conscription quota is met, the soldiers typically contact the families of the abducted to negotiate their release in exchange for a ransom. That’s why the families were able to arrange their release within two days.”
The Kale Town People's Struggle Leading Committee, a local group that opposes the junta without resorting to arms and works for the safety of Kale Town residents, has advised youths from Kale Town and the surrounding areas to avoid going out unnecessarily, attending festivities or travelling because of the junta’s abduction and conscription of young people.
