A 16-year-old child soldier from Infantry Battalion 404 in Yayphyu Township, Tanintharyi Region, has defected to revolutionary forces with weapons and ammunition. The child soldier, identified as Maung Zin Ko Ko, was a 6th-grade student from the Ayeyarwady Region who was forcibly recruited as a porter by military council troops while working as a rice carrier during school holidays to help with his family’s financial difficulties.
Maung Zin Ko Ko was arrested by military council forces around 9 PM while returning home after carrying rice. He was then sent to No. 7 Basic Military Training School in Thaungdwin Gyi Township, where he was forced to attend training batch 1/2025. After completing the training, he was assigned to Infantry Battalion 404 in Yayphyu Township. Despite being an underage child, the military council forced him into military service and even deployed him to the frontline.
On August 25, 2025, Maung Zin Ko Ko escaped from his unit, taking with him an MA-1 rifle, ammunition magazines, and bullets. He made contact with revolutionary forces based in Yayphyu Township and successfully defected to their side. The revolutionary forces are currently providing him safe haven and are processing his case through proper channels for defector recognition and rewards. This incident exemplifies the military council’s ongoing practice of forcing underage children into military service, violating international laws and human rights conventions regarding the use of child soldiers.
