Mon Youth Flee Yangon Crackdown as Military Conscription Drives Intensify

Burma News International (BNI) is a network of 15 independent media and news organizations based in and around Burma Dozens of ethnic Mon youth studying in Yangon are fleeing back to their hometowns to escape an aggressive junta crackdown, according to local monastery sources. Rising arbitrary arrests, extortion, and nighttime raids—including inside Buddhist monasteries—have forced young residents to abandon language and training courses in Myanmar's commercial capital. “The arrests of young people have increased significantly in Yangon,” said a local source connected to a Mon monastery, noting that only medical patients now remain. “They are arresting people in side streets as soon as it gets dark, and in some cases, searching inside monasteries.” The exodus coincides with the military regime launching its 28th conscription drive in September. Plainclothes security personnel and military vehicles have reportedly targeted deserted streets and bus stops, arresting anyone out after 9 p.m. Local monitoring group Rangoon Scout Network recorded at least 98 forced arrests in Yangon during August alone.