In Mandalay, the military junta is randomly arresting young men and sending them to combat zones as soldiers.
The military junta is using various methods to recruit them, including recruiting passersby, recruiting them while checking in guests, and raiding tea shops and restaurants. The military is recruiting wherever it finds them, and as more and more recruits are being recruited, people are becoming increasingly anxious, and they are not daring to leave their homes and the streets are closed after 6 p.m.
On the afternoon of January 15, the military junta quietly ambushed a group of young men playing billiards at the Myay Nanda housing in Myay Nanda Ward, Chan Myat Thashi Township, Mandalay.
The current arrest pattern is that in the outskirts of the city, people park their cars and enter freely. They even enter tea shops, which is a form of arbitrary arrest. Another type is to stop and search young people riding motorcycles and search for a reason. The main reason for all arrests is extortion. If you can afford the ransom, you can release them. Another thing is that they can release them if you can find a replacement. In neighborhoods where people with money live, they collect a monthly contribution to the military regime and do not pay the porter, and the porter mainly works in neighborhoods where poor people live and in suburbs. The Mandalay Strike Force, which monitors and documents the military regime’s arrests of porters, said that from December 1, 2024, to mid-January, more than 500 people were arrested in seven townships in Mandalay District. This number is based on ground reconnaissance and media reports, and the number of arrests could be higher.
