A young Shan-ni man forcibly conscripted by junta forces in Homalin Township, Sagaing Region, died in Hpa-An, Karen State, on December 2, according to people close to him.

The victim, a 25-year-old from Kaw Yar Village in Homalin Township, was reportedly arrested by military council troops during a raid while he was visiting friends in Homalin Town. When others fled, he was the only one left behind and captured.

“After he was taken, they sent him to the Hpa-An area for military training. The military claimed he died from malaria, but I don’t believe it. They said he fell ill after returning from the front line and died behind the lines. He was not someone used to hard labor,” said a source close to the family.

The source added that throughout his training, the young man often cried during phone calls with friends, pleading for someone to rescue him and take him home.

His family reportedly paid a large sum of money to secure his release, but he died shortly before he was due to return home.

“It had only been seven months from when he was captured to when he died. His family had already paid everything—around 50 million kyats—to secure his release. He was supposed to come home soon. It couldn’t have been just a fever. I don’t know whether he was ambushed or deliberately killed,” the source said.

His death comes amid ongoing clashes between military commission troops and the Karen National Union (KNU), along with allied revolutionary forces, in Myawaddy Township, Karen State.

Locals in Homalin and Khanti townships report that youths abducted in similar press-ganging operations are being transported to other regions for military training before deployment to front-line battlefields.

Facing severe troop shortages following the loss of numerous bases and command headquarters nationwide, the military council activated the People’s Military Service Law on February 10, 2024. As of November, the regime has opened 19 training batches, each reportedly containing around 5,000 conscripts.