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In Myanmar, Accounts of Disappearances Create a Climate of Fear
The ruling military, which is struggling with recruitment, denies abducting young men and boys to fill its ranks. But five men say it happened to them.
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Soldiers in Yangon, Myanmar, after the coup in February 2021. The military is facing the most serious challenge to its rule since the takeover. Credit...Reuters
By Sui-Lee Wee
Dec. 19, 2023
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At least 16 young men disappeared last month.
In four cities across Myanmar, under cover of darkness, armed groups took them to police stations, according to family members and some of the men themselves. Some were released after paying ransoms. In other cases, failure to pay led to forced conscription into the military. Other men simply vanished.
Such disappearances began after Myanmar’s military seized power in February 2021. But they appear to have accelerated in recent weeks, at a time when the military is facing the most serious challenge to its rule since the coup. In October, three ethnic rebel armies started the biggest offensive against the government in nearly three years.
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Sui-Lee Wee is the Southeast Asia bureau chief for The Times, overseeing coverage of 11 countries in the region. More about Sui-Lee Wee
A version of this article appears in print on Dec. 20, 2023, Section A , Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: Kidnapped and Forced to Fight in Myanmar’s Junta . Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
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