Burma's military government to draft 60,000 people yearly as existing forces spread thin

Burma's military government says it will draft 5,000 people per month under its newly activated conscription law, which indicates that resistance forces are posing a real challenge.

His surprise announcement appeared to confirm that the military has been stretched thin by increasing pressure from armed pro-democracy resistance forces that emerged after the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

There are no reliable figures for the size of Burma's military. The CIA World Factbook estimated that last year it had around 150,000-400,000 personnel. The Washington-based U.S. Institute of Peace has suggested that 21,000 service personnel have been lost through casualties, desertions and defections since the military takeover, leaving an effective force of about 150,000.