Narinjara News, July 1, 2025 

In Pyay, Bago Region, the military council is said to have apprehended about 50 Rakhine, including women who were illegally travelling due to the travel ban on Rakhines, and brought them by force to serve in the military.

They were taken into custody on June 25 and 27 after they made a covert trip from Rakhine to Yangon. They range in age from sixteen to thirty.

After being taken into custody at the Pyay Nawaday checkpoint, the detainees were forcibly transferred to military training in order to serve in the junta army. They were initially transported to the 959th (Electric/Mechanical) (Lalasa 959) Battalion in Pyay.

The military freed one man and three women between the ages of 40 and 50 on June 27 after demanding 500,000 kyats each, according to AB News, while the other 46 were held and forced to serve in the military. ‎ ‎

On June 16 and 18, the detainees—including residents of Tan Lway Chaung, Let Pan Kyun, and Thatkay Kyun in the Ywama sub-township of Taungup Township—walked to Yangon, which took them eight days to reach Pyay.

“We walk everywhere we can. We drive wherever we are able to. We rent a motorbike if we are able to. It took eight days to travel from Taungup to Pyay via the Arakan Roma Mountain range,” a local who had been there claimed.

Due to the continuous conflict in Rakhine, the military has severely restricted the movement of Rakhine citizens.

Similarly, the National Defense Emergency Provision (NDEP) is being used to conscript males between the ages of 18 and 45 and women between the ages of 18 and 25 for a two-year term of military service in the Rakhine State towns under the Arakan Army's control, and young people are not permitted to leave Rakhine State except for medical needs.

The Rakhine People's Revolutionary Government, led by ULA/AA, has also declared that it will take decisive measures against individuals who leave Rakhine State without authorization and those who send them there.