Military Council Using Numerous Under-18 Child Soldiers, Releasing Some Under False Pretenses

Yangon, July 7 The military council is still forcibly recruiting and using numerous children under the age of 18 as soldiers, but is attempting to conceal criticism by announcing the return of only 113 children under 18 who were allegedly mistakenly summoned within military service training courses 1 to 24 to their parents, according to the Myanmar Military Affairs and Security Study Group (MDSI). On July 2, General Tun Aung, the defense minister appointed by the military council, stated that 113 children under the age of 18 within military service training courses 1 to 24 had been returned to their parents through the relevant authorities. However, this announcement is merely an attempt by the military council to cover up its recruitment and use of child soldiers, said Ko Naung Roe, a representative of MDSI. "When criticism intensifies and news of child soldier recruitment spreads widely, the military tends to try to create an alibi by claiming they have screened and released child soldiers. This has become a tradition of the military," Ko Naung Roe said. He further stated that the number of 113 children announced by the military council does not represent the number of child soldiers forcibly recruited on the ground, and that there are cases where young children are recruited and their identification cards and other documents are falsified before being incorporated into the army. "The number of 113 does not reflect the actual number of child soldiers recruited on the ground. There are cases where young children are recruited and their documents and evidence are falsified before being incorporated into the army. Such youths are participating in large numbers in every training batch and every training school," he explained. According to MDSI, the military council is forcibly conscripting children as young as 15 years old, citing the Conscription Law, and is incorporating them into the army after creating forged documents such as identification cards and household registration lists. It is also stated that due to such forced conscription, many young people are being conscripted or trafficked. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing has opened military service training courses up to batch 25 after the Conscription Law came into effect in February 2024, with batch 23 having already graduated, and over 120,000 soldiers have been recruited. The annual report of the UN Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict also points out that the Myanmar military and its affiliated organizations are using children in military duties such as participating in frontline combat, acting as sentries, reporting, and transporting supplies.