Between 7 and 27 September 2026, the Myanmar military junta aggressively escalated its forced conscription campaign, broadening its targets to include high school students, night-shift factory workers, and random civilians. In Mandalay, severe labor shortages have crippled factories, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and service industries as draft-age men are abducted during their commutes, prompting rural migrant workers to flee or avoid the city.
By late September, the recruitment tactics became increasingly coercive. In Mandalay, junta-appointed administrators included high school students in conscription lotteries, threatening parents with arrest for non-compliance. In Yangon, troops began waiting outside industrial zones, including Hlaingtharya and Shwepyithar townships, during evening shift changes to abduct overtime factory workers. Labor unions documented nearly 100 workers abducted from industrial zones between June and August alone. Additionally, authorities in Yangon, Ayeyarwady, and Sagaing regions have weaponized arbitrary detentions, arresting civilians for offenses like “loitering” and threatening them with imprisonment unless they enlist.
This drastic escalation follows the National Unity Government’s (NUG) 18 September report documenting the forced conscription of approximately 135,080 males over 27 intakes to offset catastrophic military attrition, including an estimated 20,000 desertions and nearly 4,000 defections.