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Myanmar Junta Forcibly Recruiting Bago Villagers as Resistance Threatens Yangon-Naypyitaw Link

January 16, 2024/in News

Weakened by troop shortages and a wave of defeats, Myanmar’s military regime has been forcibly recruiting civilians to form militia groups in Bago Region, according to locals and resistance groups. Last month, the junta also released jailed soldiers from prisons across the country to serve on the frontlines. On Friday, military-appointed local administrators told residents of some […]

Myanmar Junta’s ‘Tiger Ogres’ Continue Their Murderous Rampage in Sagaing Region

January 16, 2024/in News

A junta military column that calls itself the “Tiger Ogres” is continuing its rampage in southeastern Sagaing Region, prompting local officials to warn residents of villages in three townships to flee. The column, based in Ye-U town, comprises junta troops and members of a pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia. Last Friday, they killed a pregnant […]

Myanmar Junta Forcibly Recruiting Bago Villagers as Resistance Threatens Yangon-Naypyitaw Link

January 16, 2024/in News

Myanmar Junta’s ‘Tiger Ogres’ Continue Their Murderous Rampage in Sagaing Region

January 16, 2024/in News

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Myanmar Junta Forcibly Recruiting Bago Villagers as Resistance Threatens Yangon-Naypyitaw Link

January 16, 2024/in News

Weakened by troop shortages and a wave of defeats, Myanmar’s military regime has been forcibly recruiting civilians to form militia groups in Bago Region, according to locals and resistance groups.

Last month, the junta also released jailed soldiers from prisons across the country to serve on the frontlines.

On Friday, military-appointed local administrators told residents of some villages in Bago they had to provide 30 to 50 men for military training.

The recruitment drive has not been publicized in big towns like Taungoo, Bago and Pyay but is confined to villages across the region, multiple sources in Bago told The Irrawaddy.

Almost three years after the coup, junta boss Min Aung Hlaing’s forces are suffering rising casualties, desertions and mass surrenderers as a coordinated resistance offensive gains territory across the country.

Earlier this month almost 2,400 soldiers including six Brigadier Generals and more than 200 army officers surrendered to resistance forces, handing their weapons, headquarters and the entire Kokang region over to rebel armies in northern Shan State.

The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and allied resistance groups are now fighting to take territory in Bago Region, which lies sandwiched between the two junta power centers of Naypyitaw to the north and Yangon to the south.

Regime officials announced the recruitment scheme for males aged 16 to 50 in villages around Bago’s Taungoo on Friday. They told locals in Pyar Taung, Zee Phyu Pin, Tha Pham Pin, Kyun Gyi and Shaung Kan villages that they would be conscripted by lottery.

Households that did not provide at least one recruit would have to pay 30,000 kyats per month to regime officials.

Selected civilians could also avoid recruitment by paying 2 million kyats (about US$ 950 at the official exchange rate), a local from Taungoo told The Irrawaddy.

Junta officials didn’t say when the plan would be implemented.

Streets in Taungoo have been quiet over the past few days as residents stay inside for fear of being caught up in the recruitment drive.

Early-morning street vendors are no longer setting up at the local market while some residents have fled the area or are sleeping in fields.

“People are afraid. They won’t accept the military regime’s plan and don’t want to join the militia. They are not sleeping well now,” the Taungoo resident said.

On Saturday, administrators in villages near Hpa Do, Kyauktaga Township, summoned residents to their homes and announced they would recruit 50 people per village to form militias.

According to a source from Hpa Do, the administrators said every household would also have to pay 5,000 kyat per month to fund the militias. They warned of consequences if the residents failed to pay the money.

“I have a 16-year-old brother and I worry for him. We don’t know what to do,” said the source.

On Sunday, as news about the recruitment drive circulated, supporters of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) cruised through Bago town under police escort, playing loud music, a resident told The Irrawaddy.

Though there has been no announcement about recruitment in the town, rumors are spreading that a militia group will be formed by the end of January, she said.

People’s Defense Force (PDF) groups based in Bago Region have urged residents to refuse junta recruitment efforts and report regime officials who forcibly recruit civilians.

The junta announced the recruitment drive after reportedly losing over 600 bases in northern Shan and Rakhine states to the Brotherhood Alliance’s Operation 1027 offensive since the end of October. Around 4,000 junta soldiers, including brigadier generals, have also surrendered during the offensive, the alliance said last week.

Irrawaddy News

Myanmar Junta’s ‘Tiger Ogres’ Continue Their Murderous Rampage in Sagaing Region

January 16, 2024/in News

The column, based in Ye-U town, comprises junta troops and members of a pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia. Last Friday, they killed a pregnant woman and three other civilians in three separate villages in Khin-U Township.

When they began raiding villages in nearby Ye-U township on Monday, thousands of people fled their homes, residents said, explaining that they had heard that the Tiger Ogres had murdered a pregnant woman in Khin-U Township last week.

On Friday, they killed two elderly residents of Myin Kya village and a 44-year-old resident of Kar Seit village. The pregnant woman was killed in Kyun Taw Gyi village. An elderly resident of the village was also shot in the leg and 10 homes were torched before the column left.

About 8,000 residents of Khin-U Township fled their homes after the raids, residents said.

The Tiger Ogres targeted Ye-U township on Monday by shelling villages with heavy artillery. About 3,000 residents from nine villages in the township fled their homes, according to the People’s Defense Comrades group in Ye-U Township.

On Tuesday, the Tiger Ogres moved to eastern Depayin Township where they looted Aung Tha village before stationing themselves in it.

“This military column killed four civilians in Khin-U Township last week, so I want to remind villagers to flee them,” a spokesperson for the People’s Defense Comrades said.

The Depayin Refugee Support Group also warned residents of Yoar Shae village to flee because the Tiger Ogres were headed towards it this morning.

Troops from the junta’s outpost in Ye-U Township habitually raid villages in neighboring Khin-U and Depayin Township. They have incinerated about 12,000 homes in the two townships since the Feb. 1, 2021 coup, local aid groups estimate.

Irrawaddy News

Spring Revolution

Civil Society Position Paper on ASEAN’s Goal of a Myanmar-Owned and -Led SolutionDecember 18, 2024 - 12:11 pm
Recommendations to ASEAN and Its Member States (1) Move beyond the 5PC to achieve a Myanmar people-led and people-centered solution to the crisis in Myanmar. ASEAN’s “Myanmar-owned and -led” approach must be backed by genuine political will that aligns with and supports the collective aspirations of the people of Myanmar. (2) Cease all pressure on […]
The Airstrikes after the journey to the China of the Junta Military LeaderDecember 10, 2024 - 1:28 pm
Operation 1027 was a coordinated military attack against the junta on October 27th, 2023. It was carried out by the Northern Brotherhood, which includes the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army. Several months later, the Three Brotherhood Alliance held three meetings to negotiate with China on January 11 […]
Human Rights Situation weekly update (September 15 to 21, 2024)September 27, 2024 - 8:26 am
Human Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from Sep 15 to 21, 2024 Military Junta Troop launched airstrikes and dropped bombs in Sagaing Region, Mandalay Region, Shan State, Chin State, Rakhine State, and Kachin State from September 15th to 21st. The Military Junta committed arresting, occupying the properties, threatening by using power, and […]

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Reparation (Cartoon Animation)December 21, 2024 - 8:08 am
Human Rights Basic 4 signs Cartoon AnimationDecember 8, 2024 - 9:07 am
Human Rights Cartoon AnimationDecember 8, 2024 - 9:03 am
JusticeOctober 7, 2024 - 10:28 am

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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