Nam Lan residents are terrified after the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) began forcibly recruiting people in the town in Kyaukme District in northern Shan State.

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“Soldiers go from house to house in Nam Lan at night and if a family has two sons, they take one of them to serve as a new soldier for the SSPP/SSA,” a local told SHAN. He explained that they have been abducting people in the town for a week and no one dares to leave their homes after 6pm.

Already five people have been taken by soldiers who tied their hands behind their backs and beat them.

“Some parents asked the SSPP/SSA soldiers not to beat their son before taking him away,” the source said.

Another local anonymous source said some of the young men have already fled the town to avoid being forced to join the armed group.

“We cannot sleep in our house at night. If a family has two males, they have to hide somewhere else at night. I want to ask why the SSPP/SSA have to abduct people in the night?”

SHAN has repeatedly called SSPP/SSA spokesperson Lt Col Sai Hsu and Maj Sai Phone Harn for comment, but they have not responded.

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army, another group in northern Shan State that is allies of SSPP/SSA, is also conducting its own recruitment campaign in northern Shan State and forcing businesses to pay taxes in Nam Kham Township in Muse District.