THE embattled junta has banned anyone eligible for military conscription from leaving the country without permission, as it seeks to shore up its forces fighting rebel groups opposed to its rule.

Press gangs prowl the streets of Mandalay and Bagan, snatching people on their way to or from work on trumped-up charges or for no reason at all.

The junta has lost control of swathes of the country to ethnic minority armed groups and other opposition forces in the civil ...