Oliver Conway

Two of us went down to the bathing spot first, while the other two stayed behind to keep watch.

Once all four of us had gathered there, we waited for the right moment and slipped away as soon as we could.

Did any of you want to join the army or were you forced to do so?

We were forcibly recruited against our will.

They began grabbing people from their homes, seizing people they found on the streets, even taking people in broad daylight.

Before we even understood what was happening, we were sent to the front lines.

They treated us terribly from the beginning to the end.

We couldn't endure it anymore.

The junta's new recruits may not be willing, but they've revived the military's fortune.

Once on the defensive, they're now mounting offensive operations across the country and attempting to take back border posts that fell to the resistance.

Although the military still controls less than half of the territory in the country,

The rebels, for their part, five years after the coup, are struggling with recruitment.

Back at the clinic, I asked Jazu, now in a recovery ward, if the heavy casualties suffered by the rebels has been worth it.

He's down.

No, it's not worth it.

I will fight until the end for the future of our children.

It's all just battlefield injuries here.

The wife of one of the fighters is heavily pregnant and the contractions have just started.

So they're going to deliver the baby.

So Major Mo is pretty close now.