The families of military officers and soldiers who died during Operation 1027, which began on October 27, 2023, in northern Shan State, have not received any benefits or compensation from the military council even after nearly two years. More than 1,500 families of deceased military personnel have applied for benefits and compensation from the military council, but they were told to wait as the bodies have not been recovered. The military has forced these families to vacate their military quarters and stopped providing full salary payments.
The military council has placed the names of officers and soldiers whose bodies were not recovered on a missing persons list and told families they would need to wait at least six months for benefits. However, after more than a year and a half, the families have not received any benefits and can no longer collect salaries. The soldiers had been making regular contributions from their salaries for life insurance and shares in military-owned businesses, which were supposed to be paid out to families in case of death, but no compensation has been provided yet.
Additionally, the families of deceased soldiers were ordered to vacate their military quarters within six months and were promised new apartments. However, most families have not received the promised housing despite submitting applications to the Ministry of Defense. The military conducted a lottery system for allocating housing units in Yangon designated for families of fallen soldiers, but the majority of families did not receive any accommodation.
While the military council has failed to provide benefits to the families of deceased soldiers, they have informed these families that they would welcome any adult children who wish to join the military at any time. However, most surviving families are no longer willing to send their children to serve in the military. This treatment by the military council has caused significant disappointment among military families. The situation highlights the military council’s failure to honor its commitments to the families of its own fallen personnel, even as it continues to recruit new soldiers.
