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Print:This Short Update describes events occurring in Htaw Ta Htoo (Htantabin) Township, Taw Oo (Toungoo) District. In August 2025, a man named A--- was forcibly recruited in Maubin Town, Ayeyarwady Region, after a group of armed men approached him in an unknown vehicle and forced him into the boot of their car. He was forced to attend military training and then deployed to the frontlines at Boo M’Tee army camp, located near Ad--- village, Maw Nay Pwar Town, Htaw Ta Htoo Township. In February 2025, another man named B--- was lied to and forcibly recruited while working in Tat Kone Town, Naypyidaw Union Territory, by two village administrators and a former Burma Army soldier. He underwent military training before being deployed to Battalion Pyu #306, Ac--- village, Per Htee village tract, Htaw Ta Htoo Township, and the frontline at Boo M'Tee army camp. After an escape attempt, he was recaptured, sentenced to three months of hard labour, and then sent back to Boo M’Tee army camp. On 28 January 2026, A---, B---, and C---, a third forcibly recruited villager, escaped Boo M’Tee army camp.[1]
A---
A---, 26 years old, is a divorced man who was staying in Aa--- village [under Burma military regime control], Maubin Town, Ayeyarwady Region, at his uncle’s house. He worked as a daily labourer at a wood processing factory located 15 minutes away from his uncle’s house.
In August 2025 [specific date unknown to KHRG], at 8:30 pm, A--- finished working and came home with two colleagues. Later, A--- parted ways with his two colleagues and continued walking home alone. While he was walking, an unknown car suddenly pulled up in front of him. Then, four to five men holding short guns came out of the car and forced him into the car boot. Although he did not want to follow their demands, he did not want to be tortured, so he complied.
The next morning, he [A---] was at a Battalion #27 recruitment centre in Maubin Town. He remained there for 12 days. Then, he was sent to Moe Sway [military] training camp, [Naypyidaw Union Territory,] for three months and to Naypyidaw Leh Way [military] training camp, [Naypyidaw Union Territory,] for two weeks. He stayed a week at [Light Infantry Battalion (LIB)[2]] #306 [based in Sha Say Bo army camp, located near Ac--- village, Per Htee village tract,[3] Htaw Ta Htoo (Htantabin) Township, Taw Oo (Toungoo) District]. Then, he was sent to the frontline at Boo M’Tee army camp, which is run by the SSPC [State Security Peace Commission][4] and is located near Ad--- village, Maw Nay Pwar Town, Htaw Ta Htoo Township. He stayed at Boo M’Tee army camp for a month.
A---’s mandatory military service batch number was #Af--- and his individual number was [censored for security]. He was forced to serve in the [Burma] Army[5] for over five months in total.
B---
In February 2025 [specific date unknown to KHRG], B---, 25 years old, was working as a construction worker somewhere in Tat Kone Town, Naypyidaw Union Territory, which is an hour by car from his own village, Ab--- village [under Burma military regime control], Nyaung Kone Sat Kone village tract, Bobba Thiri Township, Naypyidaw [Union Territory]. While working, B--- was told by three local leaders to follow them and sign a document [he did not know the content and purpose of this document]. The three leaders were a village administrator of Ab--- village, a village administrator from Ae--- village [under Burma military regime control], Nyaung Kone Sat Kone village tract, and a former soldier [of the Burma Army] (names unknown to KHRG). The three leaders told B--- that that after he signed the document, he would be released and it would not take long. B--- complied and followed the three leaders into their car. However, they lied to him, [and he believed they lied because they] were followers of Min Aung Hlaing,[6] and he was forcibly recruited. They took B--- to Naypyidaw [recruitment centre] by car.
B--- stayed 15 days at the recruitment centre for a medical checkup. Then, he was sent to Moe Sway [military training camp], Naypyidaw Union Territory, for four months [for military training]. The trainers were Thein Zaw Oo (a sergeant) and Lieutenant Kyaw Sway. [B--- stayed for] two months at LIB #300 camp, Naypyidaw, [to receive] more training. Then, he was forced to serve 15 days at LIB #306, located near Ac--- village, and [was assigned] eight months at Boo M’Tee army camp for frontline soldiers.
Later [date unknown to KHRG], B--- escaped from Boo M’Tee army camp. [When he escaped,] he wore casual clothes [to blend in with villagers] and went to an OK Taxi area [and took a taxi] back to his village. He hid for two months. Then, the Ab--- village administrator found out his whereabouts and provided the information to Burma [Army] soldiers. On an unknown date at 7 pm, they [the Burma Army soldiers] came [to where B--- lived] and beat him, tied his hands behind his back, arrested him, took him to LIB #306, and sentenced him to three months of hard labour. Later, he was sent to Boo M’Tee [army camp]. Major Hein Win Aung was the camp commander of Boo M’Tee army camp [at the time]. B--- stayed at Boo M’Tee army camp for a month.
B---’s mandatory military service batch number was #Ag--- and his individual number was [censored for security]. He [was forced to] serve for one year and two months. [The timelines reported by B--- had inconsistencies, but KHRG was unable to contact him for follow-up to clarify.]
C---
C--- was an 18-year-old villager who was also forcibly recruited. [KHRG] does not have any additional information about C---, as he fled to an unknown location.
Escape from Boo M’Tee army camp
On 28 January 2026, at 8 pm, A---, B---, and C--- escaped the frontline Boo M’Tee army camp together. They fled because, during the time they were captured, individuals with higher ranks frequently tortured, cursed, and beat [the trainees]. Moreover, they were forcibly recruited, and they did not want to be soldiers. They wanted to go back home and live peaceful lives with their families. There had been other escape incidents from this army camp prior to the escape of these three villagers as well.
While fleeing, A---, B---, and C--- struggled to return home via the main road because there were many Burma Army checkpoints, and they worried that they would get rearrested. Per Htee village tract and Zayat Gyi Taung Chan village tract, Htaw Ta Htoo Township, [where the section of the main road that they were travelling on is located,] are packed with SSPC army camps and gates. Thus, they took different paths [instead of using the main road]. [C--- took a different path from the other two escapees.] While they [A--- and B---] were walking on a farmland path and trying to find their way, they encountered KNU [Karen National Union][7] security leaders who suspected that they [A--- and B---] were lying [and were Burma Army soldiers]. When asked, the two responded that they were escaping from Boo M’Tee army camp.
On 1 February 2026, the two [A--- and B---] were living in a KNU-controlled area and were able to contact their family members. The KNU monitored the two escapees [and determined that they were civilians, so they sent them back home].
Further background reading on the situation on forced recruitment in Southeast Burma/Myanmar can be found in the following KHRG reports:
- Forced to Harm: Impacts of the State Administration Council (SAC)’s forced recruitment and enactment of the conscription law in Southeast Burma (January 2024 – February 2025), March 2025.
- “Doo Tha Htoo District Short Update: Experiences and testimonies of two civilians who were forcibly recruited by the Burma Army (June 2026)”, August 2026.
- “Taw Oo District Situation Update: SAC shelling, drone attacks, forced recruitment, threats, and other military activity, causing casualties and livelihood challenges in Htaw Ta Htoo and Daw Hpah Hkoh Townships (November 2024 to January 2025)”, May 2025.
- “Mergui-Tavoy District Short Update: Forced recruitment of villagers by an SAC-affiliated militia causing displacement in Ler K’Saw Township (December 2023 to March 2024)”, April 2024.
- “Taw Oo District Short Update: SAC forced recruitment and extortion of villagers, and resultant displacement in Htaw Ta Htoo Township (January to February 2024)”, March 2024.
Footnotes:
[1] The present document is based on information received in February 2026. It was provided by a community member in Taw Oo District who has been trained by KHRG as a researcher to monitor human rights conditions on the ground. The names of the victims, their photos and the exact locations are censored for security reasons. The parts in square brackets are explanations added by KHRG. This document combines several received reports with the following KHRG internal log numbers: #26-79-D1; 26-79-A1-I1; and 26-79-A2-I1
[2] A Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) comprises 500 soldiers. Most Light Infantry Battalions in the Tatmadaw are under-strength with less than 200 soldiers, yet up-to-date information regarding the size of battalions is hard to come by, particularly following the signing of the NCA. LIBs are primarily used for offensive operations, but they are sometimes used for garrison duties.
[3] A village tract is an administrative unit of between five and 20 villages in a local area, often centred on a large village.
[4] The State Security and Peace Commission (SSPC) is the new name of the executive governing body created in the aftermath of the 1 February 2021 military coup. Formerly called the State Administration Council (SAC), it was renamed by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on 31 July 2025. The chairperson serves as the de facto head of government of Burma/Myanmar and leads the Military Cabinet of Myanmar, the executive branch of the government. Min Aung Hlaing assumed the role of SAC chairperson following the coup and remained the head of the SSPC. The name State Security and Peace Commission (SSPC) is used interchangeably with military junta and Burma military regime.
[5] The terms Burma military, Burma Army, SAC, Tatmadaw, and junta are used interchangeably throughout this report to describe the Burma military regime’s armed forces. Villagers themselves commonly use Burma Army, Burmese soldiers, or alternatively the name adopted by the Burma military regime at the time —from the 2021 coup to July 2025, the State Administration Council (SAC). On 31 July 2025, the military junta changed its name to the State Security and Peace Commission (SSPC).
[6] Min Aung Hlaing, then Commander-in-Chief of Burma’s Armed Forces, seized power in February 2021 in a coup d’etat, overthrowing the quasi-civilian government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi after her party, the National League for Democracy, won the 2020 elections in a landslide. Following the coup, he has responded to the nationwide resistance with extraordinary brutality while continually rebranding himself and his regime to appeal for legitimacy abroad. He declared himself the Prime Minister of Myanmar in 2021, the Acting President of Myanmar in 2024, and misappropriated the title of President of Myanmar in the non-democratic 2025-2026 elections. Although the regime claims Min Aung Hlaing now holds a civilian position, reports of parliamentary coercion and installation of loyalists in the military strongly suggest that Min Aung Hlaing is not acting as a civilian ruler.
[7] The Karen National Union (KNU) is the main Karen political organisation. It was established in 1947 and has been in conflict with the government since 1949. The KNU wields power across large areas of Southeast Myanmar and has been calling for the creation of a democratic federal system since 1976. Although it signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in 2015, following the 2021 coup staged by Burma Army leaders, the KNU officially stated that the NCA has become void.
