In Hpa-An, the capital of Myanmar's southern Karen state, young men have learned not to stay out after dark.

Locals say plainclothes members and supporters of Myanmar's military government have been roaming the streets, grabbing people in their teens, 20s and 30s and forcing them into military service, the BBC reported.

"People are panicked and frightened," said a 26-year-old tuk-tuk driver the BBC called Zaw Min, who asked that his real name not be used. "Some people I know have been taken." He said he has no choice but to go out to work.

According to leaked documents seen by BBC Burmese, officials have been ordered to aggressively meet the military's recruitment quotas. Many young men have fled to Thailand or to relatives farther away.

Myanmar has been in a civil war since February 2021, when the military seized power and ousted elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. After heavy losses, the military enacted a conscription law in 2024. It requires men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 to serve at least two years. Those who refuse face up to five years in prison.

An estimated 100,000 young people have been drafted in the past two and a half years, many through threats, bribes and abductions, the BBC said.

A Radio Free Asia investigation in September found that young men are captured and sold to recruiters for thousands of dollars. "This is modern day slavery," Maj. Naung Yoe, a former army officer who defected, told RFA.

The government's conscription office told the BBC it had no comment.

What we know: young people are being abducted and sold into the army to meet quotas.
What we don't: how many have been taken, as the junta declined to comment.