Myanmar Junta Enforces Conscription Law Amid Backlash, Exodus

FILE - Soldiers stand next to military vehicles as people gather to protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 15, 2021. Myanmar's military junta is ordering a mandatory draft set to begin in mid-April 2024. FILE - Major General Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson for the Myanmar junta, speaks during a media tour, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, July 21, 2023. FILE - Members of the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) and Kareni Army (KA) are seen at a checkpoint near Demoso, in Myanmar's eastern Kayah state, Oct. 19, 2021.

Myanmar's military junta is going forward with a mandatory draft set to begin in mid-April, but critics say doing so has the potential to negatively impact the economy and the military itself.