Inside Myanmar’s civil war: A photojournalist’s journey to the front line with insurgent groups

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has spiralled back into civil war since the armed forces removed the civilian government in February, 2021. It was the end of a brief stretch of democratic rule, the former British colony's first since a coup led by General Ne Win in 1962.

Citizens from all walks of life – including students, bankers, doctors, police officers, teachers and engineers – have joined a massive countrywide protest that has collapsed Myanmar's public institutions and strained its economy to the breaking point. Many have joined the shadow National Unity Government (NUG); thousands more have joined civilian militias and other ethnic armed groups.

In the face of widespread opposition, the junta, led by ethnic-majority Burmans, has responded brutally and indiscriminately against the civilian population. As the war approaches its second year, thousands – including close to 200 children – have been killed, and the United Nations estimates the conflict has displaced one million people. Since this August alone, more than 16,000 have fled their homes to escape the violence. The UN estimates that by next year, there could be nearly 1.4 million displaced people in need of protection and humanitarian aid.

The past couple of months have been the deadliest since the start of the conflict, with the Tatmadaw, as the military force calls itself, stepping up aerial attacks across the country using Russian-supplied fighter jets and attack helicopters, according to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

In September, helicopters opened fire on a school in the central Sagaing region, killing at least 11 children. And in late October, military jets targeted an outdoor concert in northern Kachin state, killing as many as 80 and wounding hundreds.

Tatmadaw army units, backed by local militias composed of veterans, hardline nationalists and loyalists, are also launching raids on communities believed to support the NUG's armed wing, the People's Defence Forces, and other ethnic rebel groups – arresting and killing civilians, looting, and burning down homes, villages and entire towns.

I've seen the ravages of this war up close, most recently during a seven-week stay that began this past September, during the heat, humidity and rains of Myanmar's monsoon season. I crossed the border from Thailand and met soldiers from the Karenni Army, who come from eastern Myanmar, in Kayah State. (Kayah was known as Karenni until the junta renamed Burma and its various states in the 1980s; for many who oppose the military's rule, the old names stand as the legitimate ones.) The Karenni are a predominantly Catholic minority who've been fighting for self-determination since Myanmar won independence in 1948. Now, they're battling alongside the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force and other militia groups to return it to democratic rule.

We walked for several hours through thick jungle and hilly terrain to a Karenni Army settlement and camp for internally displaced people that houses roughly 250 families. From there, we travelled to the army's main military base in Myanmar, where a unit of soldiers spent 10 days organizing the logistics of escorting not just me, but various local politicians, volunteer teachers and other civilians to the town of Demoso, near the front line of the fighting.

Some 150 of us departed before dawn on Sept. 27, embarking on a four-day march that would take us through water and over mountain ranges, with soldiers carrying ammunition and weapons for their compatriots on the front.

Most of the recruits are citizens who've fled their homes and want to help defend their country. Before the coup, Su Mya was a police officer. But when the uprising began in early 2021, the 34-year-old joined up.

"I saw the military doing horrible things," she says. "I saw the burning of villages and the killing of civilians. My home was burnt to the ground. My entire village was burned down." She left behind her loved ones and all her possessions – a sacrifice she was more than willing to make.

"I want to fight," she says. "I want to fight for democracy until the end."

Building an army

Life and death

Worth fighting for