- Web Master
- October 27, 2024
In Gwa Township, Rakhine State, the Junta has commenced
training, arming, and deploying approximately 200 civilians for operations.
In mid-March, the 562nd and 563rd battalions, stationed in
Gwa, initiated military training for civilians in Chaukywar village tract and
ward no. 3, aiming to convert them into militia members, with approximately 200
individuals taking part. Some individuals who received military training have
been deployed by the Junta in various military operations, according to Gwa
residents.
"The Junta is using militia members to maintain
security and deploy them as sentinels. Observing the militia adorned in
uniforms, armed with guns, conducting patrols among civilians, has frightened
and distressed the people”, a local who did not want to be named told
Narinjara.
Meanwhile, administrative officials, including the
10-house-group elders and 100-house-group elders in Gwa, are incentivizing
individuals interested in military service by offering a monthly wage of
150,000 MMK along with provisions.
While some individuals find these incentives appealing and
opt to register for military service, the majority of young and middle-aged men
in Gwa choose to flee the town, despite the Junta's stringent security
measures.
The problematic situation that we did not ask for, has now
come to our doorsteps. Young people must consider whether they will undergo
military training and kill their own people due to Junta pressure, or leave to
the liberated areas to join the fight against the military dictatorship.”
In Gwa, some veterans, administrative officers, and other
individuals willingly support the Junta and enlist as militia members, while
others attend military training reluctantly due to the pressure they cannot
avoid.
Those affected by conscription laws must carefully weigh
their options”, he said. The spokesperson for the Arakan Army (AA) U Khaing Thu
Kha encouraged Rakhine youths to employ any available means to evade being
conscripted by the Junta.