A source from the military in Sittwe Township told DVB on the condition of anonymity that training is being provided to over 100 Muslim conscripts inside a monastery compound near the Sittwe Regional Operation Command headquarters since January.
“Previously, the military forced Muslim people to join military training and then sent them to the frontlines,” added the anonymous source in the Arakan State capital.
The source did not confirm to DVB whether the Muslim conscripts included the Rohingya, which have been forcefully recruited by the military from Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps around Sittwe, given minimal training, and then sent to the frontline where fighting against the Arakan Army (AA) continues.
Sittwe residents told DVB that the Muslim men are from at least eight villages in the township and were also forcefully conscripted by the regime in Naypyidaw. The military conscription law was enforced on Feb. 10, 2024.
It stipulates that men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 must serve a minimum of two years in the military. This can be extended up to five years in the case of an emergency. Myanmar has been under a state of emergency since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021.
Fighting between the AA and the military over control of Sittwe began on Jan. 16. The military has launched retaliatory artillery and air strikes against the AA, which has seized control of 14 out of Arakan’s 17 townships, including the Regional Military Command (RMC) headquarters in Ann Township.
Ponnagyun and Pauktaw townships, which surround the state capital Sittwe, are under AA control. It has expanded its Arakan offensive, launched on Nov. 13, 2023, to neighbouring Ayeyarwady, Bago, and Magway regions since January. The regime still controls Sittwe, Kyaukphyu and Manaung townships.
