Myanmar: Retired Soldiers Being Recalled To Serve In Combat

Myanmar’s military junta wants retired soldiers to re-join. The junta has activated the Reserve Forces Law, allowing it to send veterans back to the front line. According to Irrawaddy, junta boss General Min Aung Hlaing said on Tuesday that they were introducing the law as many veterans wanted to fight the rebel forces in the ongoing civil war.

Gen Hlaing chairs the Myanmar War Veterans Organisation. According to the organisation’s official website, it has around 91,677 members and 161,372 auxiliary members nationwide as of September 2021.

Under the new law, all former military personnel must serve for five years after they retire. Not all of them will be recalled, only those who are deemed fit for combat.

The law comes just after the junta made military service mandatory for the general population on Saturday. All men aged 18-35 and women aged 18-27 are now required to serve in the military for two to five years.

The junta is suffering a manpower crisis. Many soldiers have been killed and others are reported to have surrendered to rebel forces. The forces are primarily made up of ethnic groups, the main one being the Arakan Army (AA). They are part of the Brotherhood Alliance waging war against the junta.

The civil war started in 2021 after the democratically elected government of Aung San Su Kyi was toppled in a coup by the junta. With the death toll rising unprecedented public calls for Gen Hlaing to step down have increased.