UN report details extent of regime's Muslim conscription drive in Arakan State

By Admin 04 Sep 2025

DMG Newsroom

4 September 2025, Sittwe

A report by the UN Human Rights Council says that at one point up to 30 people per village per month from Muslim villages in Sittwe Township, Arakan State, were being forcibly recruited into the Myanmar military.

The Myanmar military continues to forcibly recruit Muslims to resist the Arakan Army's advances, beating those who refuse and forcibly evicting them from villages, the UN Human Rights Council said in a report released on August 29.

The military regime, which is facing military defeats across the country, including in Arakan State, is desperately recruiting troops, bolstering its forces, and launching counteroffensives.

"The military regime is forcibly recruiting civilians from areas under its control. The more military training batches, the more people are being forcibly recruited. The military regime is forcibly recruiting Muslims in Arakan State to fight, and it could also be used for ethnic conflict," said a person who studies human rights in Thailand.

As the military regime attempts to regain control of the territory it has lost, and recruiting new soldiers is key to doing so, observers believe that human rights abuses in the areas under its control could increase.

After the military regime implemented the military service law, it has forcibly abducted people and subjected them to military training, and is up to military training batch No. 16.

The United Nations report says Muslims in Arakan State are facing starvation due to the military regime's recruitment drive and the blockade of food and other supplies to Arakan State.

"The military regime has been blockading Arakan State for over a year; Muslims, Arakanese and other ethnic groups are suffering a lot. Prices have increased tenfold, and the number of people going hungry is also increasing," said a social worker in Arakan State.

During the Arakan Army's battles for control of towns, the military regime has deployed large numbers of armed Muslims on the front lines, and has used them to repel AA attacks.

During battles for control of Buthidaung and Maungdaw, many military-trained Muslims were killed, and among those who surrendered, military-trained Muslims were also seen in video footage released by the AA.