ByNicola Smith,
ASIA CORRESPONDENT
YANGON and Verity Bowman
13 March 2021
The young soldiers in the video clip line the benches of their truck with machetes tucked under their arms. Some crowd over a single mobile phone, cigarette in hand. Others lean on their hoe. “We don’t hold a gun any more," a line of Burmese script reads underneath, in reference to the blunt farm tools littered on the bed of the vehicle.
The message is clear: we don't just shoot, we bury too.
In another video a young soldier reaches for a machine gun, pulls it towards his face and kisses it before fixing his gaze at his smartphone camera with a tender smile. Meanwhile, a separate clip shows a young soldier drawing his fingers across his throat menacingly for his social media followers.