20 Arakanese young people forced to join AA military training

By Admin 17 Jul 2025

DMG Newsroom

17 July 2025, Ann

Twenty young people from Ramree, aged between 20 and 30, who were travelling from Arakan State to Yangon and abroad, were reportedly detained by the Arakan Army (AA) and sent to a military training school.

The young men and women from Thalupyein and Thinpankaing villages in Ramree Township were arrested at a security checkpoint in Ann Township on June 10 while traveling to work in Yangon and Malaysia.

"Those who were going to Malaysia were arrested at a security checkpoint on their way to Yangon. Some were said to have gone there to work. A human trafficker was also arrested. After the military conscription announcement, these young men went from Arakan State to mainland Myanmar, and the AA did not let them go back home," a source close to the families of the arrestees told DMG.

The families of the detainees were informed by AA officials in June that they were being taken for military training. Ma Pyae Pyae Chay from Thalupyein Village was sent back to her village from military training due to poor health.

"If they are arrested and forced to undergo military training, I want the AA to inform us whether they will be sent home after the 45-day training," said a family member of one of the arrestees.

The United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA), which now controls most of the territory in Arakan State, issued a statement on May 22 prohibiting young men eligible for military service from leaving Arakan State for the duration of the emergency caused by the latest fighting between AA and regime forces.

The ULA/AA has also prohibited those who transport displaced people from Arakan State by land or water for a fee, and said that those who do not comply will be prosecuted under existing laws.

The National Defense Emergency Provision (NDEP) stipulates that eligible Arakan Army recruits are women between the ages of 18 and 25 and men between the ages of 18 and 45, who must attend 45 days of basic military training and serve for two years under the Arakkha people's government.

But the approach taken by the AA in the case of the Ramree young people has been criticised by some as heavy-handed.

"I think that rather than arresting young people and forcing them to serve in the military, we should give them a warning or some time to prepare themselves. If we do this [arrest them], we may lose the support of the people who trust the Arakan Army," said a young man in Ramree.

Due to the lack of jobs in Arakan State, low income, and food shortages, many young people are trying to leave through forest routes to mainland Myanmar and foreign countries.

Young people attempting to leave Arakan State risk being detained by both sides of the conflict between the AA and Myanmar's military regime.

About 50 Arakanese people were arrested at the regime's Nawaday security checkpoint in Pyay on June 25 and 27 while attempting to travel to Yangon from Taungup.