In Gwa Township, Rakhine State, the Junta has commencedtraining, arming, and deploying approximately 200 civilians for operations.

In mid-March, the 562nd and 563rd battalions, stationed inGwa, initiated military training for civilians in Chaukywar village tract andward no. 3, aiming to convert them into militia members, with approximately 200individuals taking part. Some individuals who received military training havebeen deployed by the Junta in various military operations, according to Gwaresidents.

"The Junta is using militia members to maintainsecurity and deploy them as sentinels. Observing the militia adorned inuniforms, armed with guns, conducting patrols among civilians, has frightenedand distressed the people”, a local who did not want to be named toldNarinjara.

Meanwhile, administrative officials, including the10-house-group elders and 100-house-group elders in Gwa, are incentivizingindividuals interested in military service by offering a monthly wage of150,000 MMK along with provisions.

While some individuals find these incentives appealing andopt to register for military service, the majority of young and middle-aged menin Gwa choose to flee the town, despite the Junta's stringent securitymeasures.

The problematic situation that we did not ask for, has nowcome to our doorsteps. Young people must consider whether they will undergomilitary training and kill their own people due to Junta pressure, or leave tothe liberated areas to join the fight against the military dictatorship.”

In Gwa, some veterans, administrative officers, and otherindividuals willingly support the Junta and enlist as militia members, whileothers attend military training reluctantly due to the pressure they cannotavoid.

Those affected by conscription laws must carefully weightheir options”, he said. The spokesperson for the Arakan Army (AA) U Khaing ThuKha encouraged Rakhine youths to employ any available means to evade beingconscripted by the Junta.