Sword attack on junta officials highlights growing resentment over conscription in Naypyitaw

A man set for mandatory military service attacked members of the junta’s administration with a sword in Naypyitaw’s Pobbathiri Township on January 20, injuring a regime administrator, according to local sources. The attack unfolded when 27-year-old Thant Zin Phyo, listed for military service, confronted ward administrator Hla Htun at his home in Kyi Taung Kan Ward 5, expressing anger before striking with a sword, a local resident told Myanmar Now. According to the source, the chief administrator was struck in the head, shoulder, and arm, while the ward administrator was left unharmed."The ward administrator fell, even though he wasn't hit. Then the chief administrator tried to intervene. That’s when he got struck.” Currently, the junta chief administrator has been sent to hospital and is currently under observation. Thant Zin Phyo has been charged under Penal Code sections 326 and 332, for causing grievous harm through the use of dangerous weapons. He is currently detained at Htone Bo Police Station. Residents of Pobbathiri are outraged over claims that administration members' children and relatives are exempt from military service while recruitment disproportionately targets poor villagers, according to a local Pobbathiri man in his 30s. "In ward meetings, some people who have dared to speak up, have pointed out that the administrators' children are not included in military service lists, and are never included in the lot drawing process.” The military junta has begun gathering more conscripted soldiers in and around Naypyitaw, using tactics such as forced portering to recruit men. In villages around the city, authorities are targeting men during overnight guest list checks, prompting many to flee their homes and seek refuge in farm huts and other remote locations to avoid conscription.

Sword attack on junta officials highlights growing resentment over conscription in Naypyitaw

The attack comes as anger mounts over claims that junta officials shield their families from military service while coercing villagers through forced recruitment

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