Competitive Conscription of Drug Users by Junta and Armed Group Sparks Panic in Myanmar's Southern Shan State

Tensions are escalating in southern Shan State’s Langkho (Linkhay) District as Myanmar military forces and the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) conduct rival drives to detain and forcibly conscript local drug users, according to area residents.

Since July, junta troops and RCSS fighters have launched targeted sweeps across downtown Langkho and surrounding villages, executing spot checks, roadside detentions, and targeted home raids.

Detainees are routinely subjected to drug tests before being pressed into service.

While both sides are actively detaining residents, locals report widespread dread regarding junta arrests due to the regime's harsh deployment practices.

“People are more afraid of the junta because it conscripts people who are addicted to drugs and sends them straight to the frontlines,” a female resident told the Shan Herald Agency for News. “The regime’s soldiers abduct people regardless of age.

The RCSS usually only arrests young people who use drugs.”

The overlapping recruitment drives have raised fears of renewed military clashes between junta forces and the RCSS in Langkho District.

Skirmishes between the two factions have already flared elsewhere in the region.

On August 22, a 20-minute clash erupted in Mongping Township in eastern Shan State after junta troops and allied militia forces advanced into RCSS-controlled territory in the Sinmaung and Tarkaw village tracts.