Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch is accusing the Burmese junta of filling its depleted armed forces with an increasing number of child soldiers. Human Rights Watch Burma consultant David Scott Mathieson says children as young as 10 years old are being forced to enlist.

David Scott Mathieson: “With the dramatic expansion of the military, which has more than doubled the military after 1988, has meant that recruitment has become more predatory, and their standards have dramatically dropped, and the morale of the soldiers, as a result, has plummeted, as well. And they need all these new soldiers to staff the battalions and also use all this new equipment that they’re buying internationally.”

At least 3,500 soldiers are said to be deserting the Burmese army every three months.