Killings, violence, and detention – Myanmar is no place for children

World leaders must come together urgently to protect the innocent child victims in Myanmar, writes CEO of Save the Children UK Kevin Watkins

Buddhist nuns in Yangon walk past makeshift barricades erected by protesters demonstrating against the military coup (AFP/Getty)

Last Saturday, a 10-year-old boy was enjoying his weekend playing cards with his friend, 13, near downtown Yangon, Myanmar. They were playing no differently to children in countries across the world. But these boys were about to become the victims of a crisis caused by the adults who are meant to protect them. 

According to witnesses, armed forces pulled up in a military truck and began to fire into the air. The boy grabbed his friend’s hand and ran – but his friend was shot in the back of the head and fell to the ground, the witnesses told Vice News.

The boy ran and hid from the soldiers. Later, at his friend’s funeral, somebody had to lift him up as he was not even tall enough to see inside the casket.