By Ko Myo / MPA
YANGON, Myanmar — A 30-year-old man from Yangon’s Sanchaung Township has been missing for over ten days after stepping out of his residence, marking the latest case in a alarming wave of sudden disappearances driven by junta conscription squads across the commercial capital.
The missing youth, identified as Ko Aung Pyae Sone (also known as Soe Khet), left his home on Myint Mo Street around 3:00 PM on 9 July 2026. His family lost all contact shortly after, with his mobile device permanently switched off, prompting desperate appeals for public assistance on social media platforms.
His disappearance follows a similar incident on 1 June, when 27-year-old Ko Shine Aung Tun—a manager at the KBZpay Center in Time Mall, Sanchaung—vanished on his way to work. His family has received zero information regarding his whereabouts for over a month.
In an exclusive disclosure to MPA, a local police source in Yangon verified that these sudden disappearances are directly tied to an organized extortion and conscription network operating with absolute impunity.
“When a person goes missing, relatives should immediately check local ward administration offices on the very same day,” the police insider advised. “If they are not there, families must use personal contacts to search inside the Bayintnaung Interrogation and Transit Center. They are never released for free—families must pay a ransom of at least 4 to 5 million MMK (40 to 50 Lakhs) to secure their freedom.”
The police source issued a grave warning to Yangon residents, confirming that mixed squads comprising junta soldiers, police, Pyu Saw Htee militia members, and local ward administration officials are actively abducting young men from the streets, day and night, to sell them into forced military service.
International human rights watchdogs have repeatedly highlighted the military council’s aggressive use of forced conscription to replace severe battlefield casualties, warning that urban centers have devolved into lawless zones where arbitrary detentions and financial extortion are executed on a daily basis.
