YANGON: A fifth batch of conscripts Myanmar’s junta hopes will help reverse its battlefield losses has begun training, state media reported on Tuesday (Sep 10).
A military source also told AFP the new batch followed around 15,000 other conscripts who had already completed their training.
The junta enforced a conscription law in February, three years after its coup that sparked armed uprisings across Myanmar and as it reeled from a string of defeats.
The law allows the military to summon all men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 to serve in the armed forces for at least two years.
“Eligible citizens” from the fifth batch arrived at the “respective military training depots” on Monday, according to the state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar, without saying how many were involved.
Previous batches of conscripts who have completed their training “are serving duties in their respective regiments and units”, the newspaper said, without specifying where or in what capacity.
Three batches of around 5,000 men had completed their three-month training so far, a military source told AFP, requesting anonymity in order to talk to the media.
“So we can say about 15,000 trainees have concluded the training so far and are serving their duty around the country,” the source said.
