In recent months this has become conventional wisdom. But Zaw Min has no choice. "I worry, but I have to go out to work," says the 26-year-old tuk tuk driver, who asked that his real name be omitted out of fear for his safety. "My family calls me all the time and reminds me not to drive passengers too far; to be careful who I take as a passenger... I have to be vigilant all the time. "People are panicked and frightened," he explains. "Some people I know have been taken." Locals say plain-clothed members and supporters of the Myanmar junta have been roaming the streets of Hpa-An, arbitrarily arresting people in their teens, 20s and 30s and forcing them into military service. According to leaked documents seen by BBC Burmese, authorities have been ordered to aggressively fulfil the military's recruitment quotas across jurisdictions, bolstering the junta's ranks as it endures a war of attrition against ethnic militias, pro-democracy groups and civilian-led resistance movements. Zaw Min is the only one among his siblings who is at the age of recruitment. Many other "kids" his age have fled, he says – to Thailand, or the homes of relatives further afield. Those who remain are often under strict instructions from their parents: be home before dusk. Myanmar has been locked in a bloody civil war since February 2021, when its own military launched a coup d'etat and ousted democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (BBC)