Myanmar Junta Releases 93 Child Soldiers After UN Criticism
Myanmar's junta releases 93 child soldiers after UN criticism of widespread child recruitment, especially in Rakhine state. The military regime faces global scrutiny as civil conflict escalates and over 3.5 million people remain displaced.
NETB24
Yangon, July 4, 2025:
Myanmar’s military junta announced on Friday that it has discharged 93 minors from military service, following a United Nations report accusing the regime and its allies of recruiting over 400 children, many for combat roles.
According to a statement in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar, the junta claimed the minors were released after a verification process conducted last year. The statement added that financial assistance was provided to the discharged children. “Only 18 suspected minor cases remain pending verification,” the junta's child rights committee said.
The June report from the UN Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict revealed that in 2024, Myanmar’s military and affiliated armed groups recruited 467 boys and 15 girls. More than 370 were reportedly used in combat, with the largest numbers coming from the conflict-ridden Rakhine state.
Though anti-junta forces also recruited children, their numbers were significantly lower, according to the UN.
Since the 2021 coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's government, Myanmar has plunged into a nationwide civil war. Ethnic and newly formed armed groups have taken control of much of the borderlands, confining junta forces largely to central Myanmar.
To counter mounting losses, the junta reinstated mandatory military service in 2024. UNICEF reported that 3.5 million people were displaced amid the conflict, with children comprising over one-third.
Rakhine state remains a hotspot, with reports of children as young as 13 being deployed on frontlines, particularly among the persecuted Rohingya minority.
