A conscripted junta soldier who recently defected to the ethnic Arakan Army (AA) has accused military officers of executing fellow soldiers who attempted to retreat during frontline combat.
The testimony, released by the AA on Tuesday, sheds light on the brutal conditions faced by young men forcibly recruited under the junta’s Conscription Law.
Nay Thura Myo from Light Infantry Battalion 15 under the 99th Light Infantry Division recalled seeing two fellow conscripts shot dead by a junior officer as they tried to fall back during a clash.
“Commanders and their aides waited near the perimeter fence. They threatened to shoot anyone who retreated,” he said. “I saw two conscripts—their serial numbers were 79 and 420—gunned down right in front of me. They were shot in their heads by a commander’s adjutant. Both died instantly.”
Other conscripts who tried to retreat were beaten, tied up, and left exposed in the rain close to enemy lines without food or shelter, he said. “They were subjected to beating and kicking by drunk officers.”
Amid mounting defeats, the regime activated the long-dormant Conscription Law in February last year. Since then, thousands of young people have been forcibly conscripted—some under the law, others outside it—and sent to the frontlines.
The military says each training batch includes around 5,000 conscripts, with an estimated 75,000 deployed so far.
Some conscripts have resorted to injuring themselves to escape combat duty, according to Nay Thura Myo.
“As far as I know, as many as 60 junta soldiers—conscripts and other ranks—shot themselves in their limbs because they daren’t escape after they saw that those who were caught were beaten to death in front of everyone.
Some even used grenades to injure themselves. I personally witnessed at least seven” wounding themselves.
According to Nay Thura Myo, conscripts are not only subjected to physical abuse but also coerced into using narcotics to keep them alert.
“Many use WY [meth pills],” he said. “They are carried by convoys transporting supplies. A pill costs 5,000 kyats. We can also buy alcohol from the convoys,” he said, and there is a black market for meth pills and alcohol at the frontline.
Several conscripted soldiers who defected to the resistance groups have recently testified that the military regime is sacrificing the lives of conscripts in offensives to claw back lost territory.
The AA has seized 14 out of 17 townships in Rakhine State, but clashes have been reported in both Sittwe, the capital, and Kyaukphyu, home to China-backed infrastructure projects including China-Myanmar oil and gas pipelines and a planned deep-sea port.
