Thailand has deported a total of 229 Myanmar nationals in two separate operations during the last week of June, with sources along the Thai-Myanmar border reporting that conscription-aged men are being forcibly taken by regime authorities upon return to Myanmar.
“They were deported in two groups within a week of June,” said a Kawthaung resident in Myanmar’s southernmost Tanintharyi Region. “We know the regime is taking them, but we don’t know exactly how many.”
The deportations were carried out by sea from Thailand’s Ranong Province across the Kraburi River to Myanmar’s Kawthaung Township, with the two countries separated by a short maritime distance of about 4-6 miles (7-10 km).
Kawthaung is located 406 miles (653 km) south of the Tanintharyi Region capital Dawei. Those deported from Thailand to Myanmar reportedly included individuals arrested for lacking proper travel or work documents.
Ninety-eight Myanmar migrant workers were deported from Thailand on June 30. Thai immigration officials did not provide specifics about the gender of the deportees. But Kawthaung residents said that the majority were men. There have been no reports of forced conscription among these 98 deportees.
But on June 25, residents said that 131 Myanmar nationals – 104 men and 27 women – were deported from Thailand and upon arrival in Kawthaung, conscription-aged men 18 to 35 were taken by regime authorities and the women were released.
The exact number of those forcibly conscripted upon arrival in Myanmar is unknown. Both Thai and Myanmar authorities have not publicly commented on these allegations.
On August 26, military personnel held 98 Myanmar nationals at the 262nd Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) in Kawthaung and threatened to send the males away for conscription following their repatriation from Thailand.
On September 26, another 127 migrant workers deported from Thailand were reportedly taken for conscription shortly after their arrival in Kawthaung.
The regime enforced its conscription law on Feb. 10, 2024. It amended the law with stricter guidelines in January.
Human rights groups and activists marked World Refugee Day on June 20 by warning of the forced return or refugees, or refoulement, and the risk of military conscription or forced recruitment in Myanmar.
