Even more cruel than landmines, which steal limbs and lives most often from the innocent, is the use of child soldiers, which steals childhoods and souls from the defenseless. It is an act of the truly evil and desperate.

No surprise, then, to see this recent report (link to a 2.1 meg PDF) from Human Rights Watch detailing the use of child soldiers in Burma (Myanmar).

An excerpt from a story on the report on Reuters is below.

Source: Reuters Alertnet | Human Rights Watch

NEW YORK, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Myanmar is filling the ranks of its depleted armed forces with children as young as 10 and may try to capture even more boys after the recent crackdown on pro-democracy protests, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.

The former Burma is so desperate to replenish its army after desertions and attrition that children are bought and sold by military recruiters. They are beaten and held as virtual prisoners while the government denies it is happening, the report said.

Myanmar's military government, under international scrutiny for its brutal suppression of the biggest pro-democracy protests in 20 years, insists that its armed forces are made up of volunteers over 18, the 132-page report said.

However, out of 20 former soldiers interviewed by Human Rights Watch, all but one estimated that at least 30 percent of their fellow trainees were under 18, the report said.

"The government's deployment of the army in September 2007 to attack Buddhist monks and other peaceful protesters may increase the vulnerability of children to recruitment even further," the report said.

"Even before the crackdown, young men were often reluctant to join the military ... The use of the army in the attacks, killings and detention of protesters may further discourage voluntary enlistment, and prompt recruiters to seek out even greater numbers of child recruits," the report said.