Myanmar civil war (2021–present)
Ongoing armed conflict in Myanmar since the 2021 coup d'etat / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Myanmar civil war,[lower-alpha 14] also called the Burmese Spring Revolution, Burmese civil war or People's Defensive War, is an ongoing civil war following Myanmar's long-running insurgencies, which escalated significantly in response to the 2021 military coup d'état and the subsequent violent crackdown on anti-coup protests.[32][33] The exiled National Unity Government and major ethnic armed organisations repudiated the 2008 Constitution and called instead for a democratic federal state.[34] Besides engaging this rebel alliance, the junta also contends with other anti-junta forces in areas under its control.[35]
Myanmar civil war | |||||||||
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Part of the Myanmar conflict | |||||||||
Military situation as of 17 April 2024: State Administration Council and allies National Unity Government and allies Other combatants For a detailed accurate up-to-date map, see here For a list of engagements, see here | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Allied ethnic armed organisations:
Other organisations:
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Aligned ethnic armed organisations:
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Strength | |||||||||
100,000 (PDF, February 2024 estimate)[21] and more than 100,000 (LDF and allied ethnic armed organisations, EAOs) | about 150,000 personnel; 70,000 combat troops (Tatmadaw, May 2023 estimate)[22] | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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As of March 2023, the United Nations (UN) estimated that since the coup in February 2021, 17.6 million people in Myanmar required humanitarian assistance, while 1.6 million were internally displaced, and over 55,000 civilian buildings had been destroyed.[36] UNOCHA said that over 40,000 people had fled into neighboring countries, such as Bangladesh, India and Thailand.[37]
As of October 2023, Myanmar's military, the Tatmadaw, controlled under 40% of the country, although they maintained that they controlled around two thirds of the country's 330 townships.[2][38] In the second half of 2023, Chinland Defense Forces in the state of Chin had captured a majority of the state, with a few holdouts in urban areas and along the India–Myanmar border remaining. In October 2023, the Tatmadaw began facing manpower issues, with desertions and low morale being extremely common. This coincided with a major rebel offensive by the People's Defence Force and Three Brotherhood Alliance in the west of the country, which was successful in taking 80 bases, 220 junta positions and several towns by 28 November 2023.[39]
October and November 2023 saw a series of concurrent rebel offensives, including Operation 1111 besieging the state capital of Loikaw and renewed conflict by anti-junta forces in northern Rakhine and Chin states.[40][41] In Operation 1027, anti-junta forces seized Laukkai, the capital of Kokang Self-Administered Zone, in early January 2024.[4] Operation 1027 continued past a ceasefire in northern Shan State with Mrauk U, among others, falling to Arakan Army forces in February 2024.[3] As of February 2024, thousands of the junta's soldiers have surrendered without a fight, including six generals of the Tatmadaw.[42] The junta used terror tactics against the population, including burnings, beheadings, mutilations, torching villages, and a massive aerial bombing campaign that has displaced nearly three million people.[43] The Myanmar Air Force has dropped more bombs per capita than have been dropped in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[44] A group of observers write that the Tatmadaw's forces remain "formidable and well-equipped", with "external allies and economic resources".[45][46]
In late March 2024, anti-junta forces in southeastern Myanmar captured Demoso and Papun.[47][5] bringing the number of district-level towns captured by anti-junta forces up to six.