Abductions and Extortion by Plainclothes Myanmar Junta Troops Fuel Fear in Mon State

Residents across 10 townships in Mon State are growing increasingly alarmed as military regime troops operating in civilian clothes carry out arbitrary vehicle seizures, abductions, and extortion targeting local villagers and plantation workers, according to residents and human rights groups.

The regime has intensified security checks at town entry points, major road junctions, and rural thoroughfares.

Beyond inspecting vehicles, junta personnel have reportedly been abducting individuals, threatening their relatives, and demanding hefty ransoms for their release.

"Junta troops in civilian clothes are checking vehicles and abducting young people, apparently to meet their conscription quotas. But we can’t say for sure that everyone detained in these incidents is sent to serve in the military," said Nai Aue Mon, program director of the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM).

"In most cases, they seem to be extorting money from families to secure releases. If families cannot afford to pay, the detainees are invariably sent to military training camps and forcibly drafted as conscripts."

On September 24, regime troops arrested plantation workers returning from a rubber estate in Thanbyuzayat Township, extorting money under the pretext that they were operating unregistered vehicles.

Similarly, on September 27, a resident and a plantation worker traveling by motorcycle from Kamarwet Village to Wette Village in Mudon Township were abducted, with troops extracting 30 million Myanmar kyats (MMK) in ransom.

On September 30, junta forces also seized unlicensed vehicles at checkpoints around Ye Town and in crowded public areas, detaining both the vehicles and their owners.

"Motorcycles are essential in Mon State and across Lower Myanmar for daily commuting, traveling to plantations, and transporting goods," a rubber plantation worker from Thanbyuzayat Township said.

"During the rubber-tapping season, the constant threat of arrest makes it extremely difficult to work. Missing work directly impacts the daily income and livelihoods of wage workers and their families, compounding difficulties in accessing healthcare, education, and basic needs. We are forced to live in fear day and night."

Independent media reports indicate that the junta has drafted an average of 200 recruits per month in Mon State across conscription batches 1 through 26, bringing the cumulative total of forced conscripts in the state to over 6,000.

With plainclothes soldiers frequently mingling among the civilian population, young people and their families face mounting anxiety over unannounced abductions and the constant threat of forced military recruitment.