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Junta deploys first round of military recruits to Myanmar’s frontlines

July 16, 2024/in News

The new soldiers are headed to brutal conflict zones after only 3 months of training. The first round of soldiers recruited under Myanmar’s controversial military draft law have completed their training and are being deployed to the frontlines of the junta’s war against rebels in the country’s remote border areas, their family members said Tuesday. […]

Brotherhood Alliance announces four-day ceasefire; India calls for release of nationals from cyber scams centers

July 16, 2024/in News

Brotherhood Alliance announces four-day ceasefire The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) announced Sunday that a temporary ceasefire was put in place in Lashio Township of northern Shan State, near the Burma-China border, during the Communist Party of China’s third plenum meeting, which ends July 18. “The MNDAA set its ceasefire for four days but […]

Junta deploys first round of military recruits to Myanmar’s frontlines

July 16, 2024/in News

Brotherhood Alliance announces four-day ceasefire; India calls for release of nationals from cyber scams centers

July 16, 2024/in News

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Junta deploys first round of military recruits to Myanmar’s frontlines

July 16, 2024/in News

The new soldiers are headed to brutal conflict zones after only 3 months of training.

The first round of soldiers recruited under Myanmar’s controversial military draft law have completed their training and are being deployed to the frontlines of the junta’s war against rebels in the country’s remote border areas, their family members said Tuesday.

The deployment marked the latest chapter in the junta’s bid to shore up its forces amid heavy losses against various ethnic armies and rebel militias since its 2021 coup d’etat, prompting the junta to enact the People’s Military Service Law in February.

Under the law, men between the ages of 18 and 35 and women between 18 and 27 can be drafted to serve in the armed forces for two years.

The announcement triggered a wave of assassinations of administrators enforcing the law and drove thousands of draft-dodgers into rebel-controlled territory and abroad.

The military carried out two rounds of conscriptions in April and May, training about 9,000 new recruits in total. A third round of conscription began in late May, with draftees sent to their respective training depots by June 22.

The first batch of recruits completed their three-month training on June 28, and family members told RFA Burmese on Tuesday that the new soldiers were sent to conflict zones in Myanmar’s Rakhine and Kayin states, and Sagaing region, beginning in early July.

While the junta has never said how many recruits were trained in the first group, a mid-April report by the Burmese Affairs and Conflict Study, a group monitoring junta war crimes, indicated that it was nearly 5,000 young people from across the country.

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“My husband told me that orders from [the junta capital] Naypyidaw directed the deployment of new recruits from training batch No. 1 to conflict-affected areas, including Rakhine state,” said Nwe Nyein, the wife of a new recruit from Ayeyarwady region.

“They [the junta] had previously said that new recruits under the People’s Military Service Law would not be deployed to the frontlines,” she said. “However, I am worried because my husband was sent to the remote border areas.”

Nwe Nyein said that the second batch of recruits are expected to complete their military training on Aug. 2 and reports suggest that they will also be sent to the frontlines.

Used as ‘human shields’

A resident of Myanmar’s largest city Yangon, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said that some people close to him had been injured in battles in northern Shan state and have since returned home.

“A young man from our town was shot in the arm, but he never underwent an operation to remove the bullet,” the resident said. “He also said that almost all the new recruits sent to the frontlines had been killed, and their families didn’t even receive their salaries.”

Recruits from the first batch of training under Myanmar junta's people's military service law seen on July 16, 2024. (Pyi Thu Sitt via Telegram) — Recruits from the first batch of training under Myanmar junta’s people’s military service law seen on July 16, 2024. (Pyi Thu Sitt via Telegram)

In southern Myanmar’s Tanintharyi region, residents told RFA that the junta is deploying new recruits to battle.

Min Lwin Oo, a leading committee member of the Democracy Movement Strike Committee-Dawei, condemned the deployment of new recruits with only short-term military training, suggesting that they are being used as “human shields.”

Flagging morale

Former Captain Kaung Thu Win, who is now a member of the nationwide Civilian Disobedience Movement of former civil servants that left their jobs in protest of the military’s power grab, told RFA that the junta urgently needs more soldiers, and he expects that nearly all new recruits will be sent to the frontlines.

“About 90% of these new forces will be dispatched to the battlegrounds, regardless of whether they engage in combat [with rebel groups] or target people [civilians],” he said. “Their [the junta’s] main objective is to ensure they have more soldiers equipped with guns.”

Kaung Thu Win also said that the junta faces many challenges in its propaganda efforts to persuade new recruits to fight, but is also increasingly unable to trust its veteran soldiers as losses mount.

Than Soe Naing, a political commentator, slammed the junta over the reported deployment and echoed the former captain’s assessment of the military’s low morale.

“Young people are being sent to die after … [mere] months of military training,” he said. “Even veteran soldiers in their 60s who have been sent to the battlefield have lost their motivation.”

5 years of service?

The junta has yet to release any information about the deployment of new recruits to the frontlines.

Meanwhile, although the People’s Military Service Law states that new recruits must serve for a total of two years, reports have emerged that the junta is telling soldiers that they will have to fight for five.

Junta officials have publicly denied the reports.

Attempts by RFA to contact the office of the chairman of the Central Body for Summoning People’s Military Servants in Naypyidaw for further clarification went unanswered Tuesday.

Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.

RFA News

Brotherhood Alliance announces four-day ceasefire; India calls for release of nationals from cyber scams centers

July 16, 2024/in News

Brotherhood Alliance announces four-day ceasefire

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) announced Sunday that a temporary ceasefire was put in place in Lashio Township of northern Shan State, near the Burma-China border, during the Communist Party of China’s third plenum meeting, which ends July 18.

“The MNDAA set its ceasefire for four days but there were fighting in Lashio town on Sunday night,” said a Lashio resident. “The military has reached a situation where it is under the worst threat in history. We can say that the regime’s downfall will come soon,” said Kyaw Zaw, the National Unity Government (NUG) spokesperson.

The MNDAA added that it will retaliate against the military if it carries out any attacks against the Brotherhood Alliance, which includes the MNDAA and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), over the next four days. The Brotherhood re-launched its offensive in northern Shan State on July 3 after signing a China-brokered ceasefire with the military on Jan. 11.

Thailand seizes shipments meant for drug production

Thailand’s 3 Plus News reported on Saturday that Thai authorities confiscated 90,000 kg of toluene, a chemical compound which can be used in drug production, at Laem Chabang port in Chonburi Province, located in eastern Thailand. It arrived in six shipping containers from Busan, South Korea on July 8.

“This chemical is very dangerous for mankind. These chemicals can destroy [families], so we have to step up to suppress it,” said an official from Thailand’s Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) at the Ministry of Justice.

According to Thai investigators, the six containers were ordered by a logistics company in Samut Sakhon Province, west of the capital Bangkok, and destined for Shan State via Mae Sot, Tak Province in western Thailand. Thai media reported that those 90 tons of toluene can produce four and a half tonnes of heroin, or 4,500 kilograms of methamphetamine, or 120 million yaba tablets, which is a mix of methamphetamine and caffeine.

Regime deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Than Swe, meets India’s Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar in New Delhi on July 11. (Credit: Regime)

India calls for release of nationals from cyber scams centers

India’s Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar called for the release of Indian nationals trafficked to work at cyber scam centers in Burma during a meeting with the regime’s deputy prime minister, who is also the minister of foreign affairs, Than Swe on July 12.

Jaishankar “pressed strongly for the early return of Indians unlawfully detained” in Burma at the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Foreign Ministers’ Retreat, which was held in New Delhi July 11-12.

BIMSTEC is a regional organization established in 1997. It aims to connect countries around the Bay of Bengal to promote economic growth, trade, and cooperation in areas like transportation, energy and counter-terrorism. Than Swe met with Thailand’s new Foreign Affairs Minister Maris Sangiampongsa on July 11.

News by Region

KAREN—The Karen National Union (KNU) stated that 134 civilians have been killed and 439 injured in areas under its control since January. It added that over 2,000 human rights violations were committed by the military, including 96 arrests of civilians.

A total of 1,182 buildings, including 29 religious buildings, 14 schools and four healthcare facilities, were destroyed in airstrikes, artillery and landmine attacks. Over 1.2 million civilians have been displaced from their homes and are now Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) since the 2021 military coup.

MANDALAY—Madaya Township residents reported that the military carried out airstrikes on Kyauktada, Bokone, Htonepho villages and the Alpha cement factory on Sunday. The Madaya People’s Defense Force (PDF) claimed that six military outposts were abandoned as the troops were deployed along the Mandalay-Mogok Road, as well as at Mandalay Hill and other public areas.

SHAN—The TNLA announced that 54 civilians have been killed and 82 have been injured in northern Shan since fighting between it and the military began on June 25. It added that the military is conducting retaliatory airstrikes and artillery attacks on areas under its control and more than eight civilians have been killed and injured per day up to July 10.

The TNLA seized Nawnghkio Township after it captured the remaining military outpost there last Wednesday. Fighting continues between the TNLA and the military in Lashio and Kyaukme townships of northern Shan, as well as Mogok Township in Mandalay Region.

YANGON—Residents from Mandalay Region, as well as Arakan and Shan states have fled their homes and become IDPs due to the fighting between the military and resistance forces such as the Brotherhood Alliance, which includes the Arakan Army (AA), and have sought refuge in Yangon.

“The entire bus was full of people coming to Yangon, including children and elders. They said they are fleeing the fighting in northern Shan State and Mandalay as it is no longer safe there,” said a passenger traveling from Shan State to Yangon.

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ND Burma

ND-Burma formed in 2004 in order to provide a way for Burma human rights organizations to collaborate on the human rights documentation process. The 13 ND-Burma member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of what communities in Burma have endured to advocate for justice for victims. ND-Burma trains local organizations in human rights documentation; coordinates members’ input into a common database using Martus, a secure open-source software; and engages in joint-advocacy campaigns.

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