Drivers Avoid Bagan-Nyaung-U Highway Over Forced Military Conscription Sweeps
Drivers are increasingly refusing to operate vehicles along the Bagan-Nyaung-U highway in Mandalay Region as the Myanmar military junta steps up forced abductions and conscription of passengers from express buses, according to local residents.
While arbitrary arrests were already reported along this route through July, local sources report a sharp escalation in September, with junta forces actively pulling commuters off vehicles.
“Just the other day, on September 17, about 10 people were taken in a single day,” a local resident living near the highway told Mizzima. “They used to make arrests before, but now they are seizing so many people daily that drivers don’t dare use this road anymore. Express bus services stopped running yesterday. Drivers previously detoured through here to avoid the dangerous Taungtha–Meiktila stretch when heading to Yangon, but now even this route has become unsafe.”
Passenger buses and cargo trucks traveling from Myingyan toward Meiktila and Yangon had routinely bypassed the usual route through Taungtha and Mahlaing, rerouting along the Bagan-Nyaung-U highway via Popa and Kyaukpadaung.
Local resistance sources—including the information officer of Myingyan District Battalion 3 and a representative from the Myingyan People’s Movement Committee—estimate that junta forces arrested approximately 200 travelers along the Bagan-Nyaung-U stretch for forced conscription between mid-2025 and mid-2026.
While the junta primarily targets young men aged 18 to their early 20s, middle-aged men up to around 45 have also been seized. Draftees are transported in civilian vehicles and military trailers to various bases, including the Ba Htoo military training site in Shan State, as well as Light Infantry Battalions 113 and 315 in Meiktila.
To catch individuals evading draft orders or using borrowed citizenship cards, junta authorities at bus terminals are using biometric tools, combining the Person Scrutinization and Monitoring System (PSMS) with iris scanners, local sources added.
The Bagan-Nyaung-U highway is a key transport artery in the historic Bagan region. Beyond military checkpoints and the threat of forced conscription, travelers face escalating security risks, including armed robberies and kidnappings by unidentified armed groups.
The junta's mandatory military service law has now entered its 28th intake cycle, with forced conscription drives taking place daily across rural villages, regional towns, and major cities like Yangon and Mandalay.
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