Defectors Say Junta Forcibly Recruits Civilians With Poor Health to Fill Ranks

The military junta is forcibly arresting civilians with poor health—including those traveling from Arakan State to central Myanmar for medical treatment—and compelling them into military service, according to defected members of the People’s Military Service.

Nai Khant Kyaw, a soldier who defected from the Nat Yay Kan Strategic Command to the Arakan Army (AA) on January 24, 2026, said junta authorities are systematically targeting civilians seeking medical care, even when they carry official medical recommendation letters.

Private Nai Khant Kyaw (Service No. PS/174875), a native of Ramree Township in Arakan State, said he was himself arbitrarily detained in February 2025 while traveling to central Myanmar for treatment due to chronic health problems.

He recounted that following his arrest, he was taken to a recruitment center where junta soldiers assigned to security duties subjected detainees to intimidation and threats, often while intoxicated.

“They provided only minimal food, usually small rice packets,” he said. “The guards were drunk and threatened to shoot us if we tried to escape.”

Despite medical examinations confirming that he was unfit for military service, Nai Khant Kyaw said the junta forcibly conscripted him to meet recruitment targets.

“I have undergone abdominal surgery and suffer from kidney stones,” he said in a video testimony. “Because they could not meet their monthly recruitment quotas, they forcibly declared me medically fit and sent me into service.”

As casualties continue to mount in clashes nationwide, the junta has intensified enforcement of the military service law in areas under its control in an effort to replenish its forces, resulting in widespread arbitrary arrests and forced conscription, sources said.

Meanwhile, People’s Military Service personnel deployed to frontline areas reportedly face abuse and oppression by senior officers, prompting a growing number of soldiers to defect to nearby revolutionary forces.

Amid escalating forced recruitment and arbitrary detentions, increasing numbers of civilians are fleeing to safer areas within Myanmar, while others are seeking refuge abroad, according to reports.