GENEVA, Switzerland: Myanmar's military government has "doubled down" on civilian attacks while showing signs of becoming "increasingly desperate" by imposing military service, the United Nations' special rapporteur on the country said on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, the military said it would enforce a law allowing it to call up all men ages 18 to 35 and women ages 18 to 27 to serve for at least two years, as it struggles to quell opposition to its Feb. 1, 2021 coup.

"While wounded and increasingly desperate, the Myanmar military junta remains extremely dangerous," the UN's Tom Andrews said in a statement.

"As the junta forces young men and women into the military ranks, it has doubled down on its attacks on civilians using stockpiles of powerful weapons," he added.

The junta faces widespread armed opposition to its rule three years after seizing power from the elected government of 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung Sang Suu Kyi. The coup ended a 10-year experiment with democracy and plunged the Southeast Asian nation into bloody turmoil.

The junta recently suffered a series of stunning losses to an armed alliance of ethnic minority groups.

Andrews said that with the conscription law, the junta was trying to justify and expand its pattern of forced recruitment.

In recent months, young men have reportedly been abducted from city streets or otherwise compelled into joining the military's ranks, he added.

"Young people are horrified by the possibility of being forced to participate in the junta's reign of terror. The numbers fleeing across borders to escape conscription will surely skyrocket," the rapporteur said.

A former lawmaker from Maine, Andrews is the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.

Special rapporteurs are mandated by the UN Human Rights Council, but are independent figures and do not speak for the global organization.

Andrews deplored the "inaction" of the UN Security Council and urged countries to strengthen measures to reduce the junta's access to money and weapons.

He also called on the international community to increase humanitarian aid to the conflict-stricken country.

"Now, more than ever, the international community must act urgently to isolate the junta and protect the people of Myanmar," he said.

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