On Saturday, the military junta that rules Myanmar announced the introduction of compulsory military service for men and women with immediate effect, starting on Saturday itself. The junta implemented a 2010 law that provided for compulsory military service but which had never been implemented until now. Conscription will be compulsory for men aged between 18 and 35 and for women between 18 and 27, for a maximum of two years. For those with medical training the age limit is 45 years and the maximum mandatory period rises to three. However, the maximum duration of the service may be extended to five years when the state of emergency is in force, as in the current case.
The military junta has been in power since 2021, when it imprisoned democratically elected Prime Minister Aung San Suu Kyi, currently in prison on charges deemed politically motivated. Since then the junta has declared a state of emergency which has been extended several times and ongoingalso because he had to fight against various groups of rebels who oppose the regime: the fight against these groups is costing the army many losses.