Myanmar junta released 93 child soldiers

The Irrawaddy, archive

Myanmar’s military regime claims it has released 93 minors from its ranks, pushing back against a recent United Nations report accusing it of recruiting hundreds of children—many for combat.

In a rare statement published on Friday in the junta’s state-run Global New Light of Myanmar, officials said a verification process conducted last year identified and discharged 93 underage recruits, each reportedly given financial support. Authorities added that only 18 suspected cases remain under review.

The announcement comes in direct response to a damning UN report released in June, which found that Myanmar’s armed forces and allied militias recruited at least 467 boys and 15 girls in 2023—more than 370 of whom were deployed in combat roles.

The junta’s statement did not specify when the 93 minors were released, raising questions about the timing and transparency of the process.

While the UN report also cited child recruitment by anti-junta forces, the numbers on the military’s side were significantly higher. The worst violations reportedly took place in western Rakhine state, where 300 children—many Rohingya—were said to have been recruited by the military and its allies.

Myanmar has been plunged into civil war since the 2021 coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government. Armed resistance has spread nationwide, with ethnic groups and new militias gaining control of large parts of the country. In 2024, the junta enacted a mandatory conscription law to bolster its struggling forces, amid mounting territorial losses.

UNICEF estimates that 3.5 million people are now displaced across Myanmar, over a third of them children. Reports of child soldiers, including some as young as 13, have drawn international condemnation and raised alarm over deepening rights abuses in conflict zones.

Despite the junta’s latest claims, rights monitors remain sceptical. “Discharging a fraction of child soldiers does not erase the systemic nature of the recruitment,” said one international observer, speaking on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.

With the conflict grinding on and oversight limited, the plight of children caught in Myanmar’s war shows no signs of easing.

-2025-07-05