Facing Setbacks From Rebels, Myanmar Activates Conscription Law

FILE - Military officers march in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, March 27, 2023. On Feb. 10, 2024, Myanmar’s military government activated for the first time a decade-old conscription law that makes young men and women subject to military service if called up.

Myanmar's military government on Saturday activated for the first time a decade-old conscription law that makes young men and women subject to at least two years of military service if called up, effective immediately. The announcement of the measure on state television amounts to a major, though tacit, admission that the army is struggling to contain the nationwide armed resistance against its rule.