Bangkok, Feb 14 (EFE).- The Myanmar military said on Wednesday it will recruit up to 60,000 people every year as part of the newly enforced mandatory military service.
The junta in a statement said that the conscription would practically begin in April with the recruitment of the first 5,000 people to join the army to fight against the rebel forces in the country.
On Feb. 10, the ruling junta, which seized power in a coup in February 2021, announced the enforcement of the People’s Military Service Law, which was passed in 2010 but was not effective so far.
According to the law, all men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 must serve for up to two years in military ranks.
In the case of specialists such as engineers and doctors, men can be recruited aged up to 45 and women up to 35, and must serve for at least three years.
The junta warned that those who do not “comply” with the regulations would face criminal charges.
The junta decision has lashed fear and astonishment among the young citizens in a country already grappling with a political and economic crisis amid the ongoing conflict between the army and rebel forces.
Several young people in interview with EFE expressed willingness to flee the country rather than joining an army, accused of possible genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority.
The army is reportedly in a moment of crisis and desperation, with around two-thirds of the country embroiled in conflicts, according to the United Nations.
The anti-junta ethnic rebel groups, known as the Brotherhood Alliance, launched a joint offensive, code-named “Operation 1027,” against the army on Oct. 27 in northeastern Myanmar that spread across the country within weeks.
The rebel forces claim to have gained control of over 25 cities from the army in different areas of the country, including Laukkai, the capital of the strategic Kokang region bordering China.
These offensives, later joined by pro-democratic forces of the self-proclaimed National Unity Government (NUG) and other rebel groups, are said to be the most significant threat to the junta’s rule since the military coup in 2021.
The military coup has plunged the country into a deep political, social, and economic crisis, triggering a spiral of violence, particularly with the emergence of new pro-democracy forces joining hands with ethnic minority militias, exacerbating the country’s decades-long ethnic conflicts. EFE
ak-pav/bks/sc
