Deserters find refuge with the rebels

Deserters find refuge with the rebels

War 

Three of the four soldiers who deserted from Monghsat last month are now with the Shan State Army of Col Yawdserk, according to border sources. 

Privates Htun Khaing, 23; Ko Ko Maung, 19 and; and Maung Htay 16, from Infantry Battalion 226, now on tour in Loilang (Doilang in Thai)-Mongyawn area, opposite Chiangmai's Mae Ai district, arrived at the SSA's Hpabawng base, opposite Fang, Mae Ai's neighboring district in the west, on 17 October, two weeks after their escape. 

One of them Hpo Tu, was killed on 11 October, when they ran into a Thai army patrol near Mae Ai. The incident was reported by Bangkok Post, 12 October issue. 

One of the survivors, Maung Htay, said he was from Myothit, Mandalay, and was drafted into the Army at 14. "I was given two choices by the recruiting officer: Enlist or be locked up in jail," he related. "I chose the former." 

All of them, who were interrogated separately by the SSA, declared there were at least 40 under aged enlisted men in their battalion. "You won't find any Burmese unit without child soldiers," swore Ko Ko Maung. 

According to Convention on the Right of the Child (CRC) Article 38, state parties must refrain from recruiting any person who has not attained the age of 15 into their armed forces.