19 April 2026 By Hsu Yee
WUNDWIN, Myanmar — Residents of Wundwin Township in central Myanmar are living in terror as military junta forces intensify their campaign of forced conscription, with at least three more youths abducted during pre-dawn raids on Sunday.
At approximately 6:00 AM, soldiers arriving in two trucks and on motorcycles entered Yoe Kan village. While villagers there managed to flee into the surrounding countryside upon hearing the vehicles approach, the troops moved on to the neighbouring village of Kyat Kan, where they successfully detained three young men.
“People are now terrified of any vehicle noise,” an official from the local monitoring group Voice of Wundwin told MPA. “As soon as they hear an engine, the entire village empties into the fields. The soldiers this morning came from the east, likely from Wundwin or the Pindale camp. They have since retreated, but the fear remains.”
The abducted youths were reportedly transported toward Meiktila, a major military hub in the region. This latest incident follows a broader pattern of aggressive recruitment across Mandalay. Just a day earlier, on April 18, soldiers from the Pindale base raided Min Kan and Yone Su villages, even chasing residents into the forest to secure nine more “recruits.”
The military’s recruitment drive has become increasingly desperate. On April 11, troops operating along the Meiktila-Pindale road reportedly stopped commercial market trucks, dragging young passengers out to be forcibly enlisted. At least 15 youths were seized in a single morning across five different villages during that operation.
The surge in “portering”—the forced abduction of civilians for military labour or front-line service—comes as the junta struggles to replenish its ranks following heavy losses in the ongoing civil war. Despite the official implementation of a national conscription law, the military has frequently resorted to informal abductions and rural raids to meet its quotas.
For the farming communities of Wundwin, the threat of abduction has effectively halted daily life. Many young men are now sleeping in hiding, away from their homes, to avoid the military’s sweep.
As the junta continues to prioritize its manpower needs over civilian safety, the rural heartlands of Myanmar face a growing humanitarian crisis, with families torn apart and a generation of young men forced into a war they did not choose.
