Rebels in Myanmar's Myawaddy town seized the last military base from the junta, forcing soldiers to retreat to the No 2 Friendship Bridge toward Thailand. The Karen resistance fighters, led by the Karen National Union (KNU), now control the town but not the border bridge. Myawaddy, pivotal for trade with Thailand, is also known for hosting online scam factories with foreign workers in harsh conditions. Amid this, up to 120,000 people could be held in compounds across Myanmar, per UN estimates.
Fighting escalates in Myanmar as Karen guerrilla fighters and pro-democracy forces clash with soldiers in the trading town of Myawaddy on the Thai border. The Karen National Union's armed wing captures a regional army base, leading to surrenders. Resistance forces hold territory in Shan and Rakhine states. A drone attack on Naypyitaw airport highlights the military government's vulnerability. Civilians flee to Thailand amid airstrikes and shelling, with some taking refuge at Buddhist monasteries. The ongoing conflict has alarmed Thai officials, who prepare to accommodate potential refugees.
Rebel groups in Myanmar, including Karen fighters, have seized a vital town on the border with Thailand and tried to attack the capital, Naypyidaw, using drones. The military government is facing significant defeats, with soldiers surrendering in key areas like Myawaddy, leading to potential loss of control for the junta. The military, struggling with poor morale and manpower, is resorting to mandatory conscription. Despite some resistance, the opposition groups are reported to have control over at least 75% of Myawaddy, with the military likely resorting to aerial bombings. The situation reflects a weakening junta facing relentless losses since October.
Myanmar's main pro-democracy resistance group's armed wing launched drone attacks on Naypyitaw International Airport and a military headquarters, countered by the military claiming destruction or seizure of over a dozen drones. Karen ethnic minority guerrilla fighters are close to seizing a major trading town bordering Thailand, prompting soldiers and civil servants loyal to the military government to prepare to abandon their positions.
Myanmar's army chief Min Aung Hlaing accuses young people of being misled into supporting the resistance against the military, blaming foreign interference. Anti-coup forces have gained ground against the military, leading to unprecedented losses. The military regime faces challenges from ethnic armed groups and civil resistance, with over 2 million displaced and thousands of casualties. The army chief announced plans to activate conscription laws amidst ongoing conflict and extended state of emergency. Western nations have imposed sanctions on the ruling generals for their actions post-coup. The army also faces accusations of involvement in illegal activities like drug trafficking and gambling.
Opponents of army rule in Myanmar carried out drone attacks on two military targets in Naypyitaw, the capital, in a blow to the junta's governance. The National Unity Government announced coordinated drone attacks on the headquarters of the military and Alar Air Base, with preliminary reports suggesting casualties. This incident challenges the military's credibility as the protector of Myanmar's sovereignty, facing its biggest test since 1962. Myanmar is in a civil war between the military and ethnic minority rebels, with Western governments accusing the military of systematic atrocities and excessive force in civilian areas.
The Myanmar civil war, 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. The NUG and major ethnic armed organisations repudiated the 2008 Constitution and called instead for a democratic federal state. Besides engaging the rebels, the junta also contends with anti-junta forces in areas under its control. As of February 2024, thousands of soldiers have surrendered without a fight, including six generals of the Tatmadaw, the regime’s military. A group of observers write that the Tatmadaw's forces remain "formidable and well-equipped", with "external allies and economic resources".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. UNOCHA said that over 40,000 people had fled into neighboring countries, such as Bangladesh, India and Thailand.As of October 2023, the Tatmadaw controlled under 40% of the country, although they maintained that they controlled around two thirds of the country's 330 townships. 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, coinciding with the PDF and Three Brotherhood Alliance's major rebel offensive in the west of the country, Operation 1027, which was successful in taking 80 bases, 220 junta positions and several towns by 28 November 2023.October and November 2023 saw a series of concurrent counter-offensives, including Operation 1111 besieging the state capital of Loikaw and renewed conflict by anti-junta forces in northern Rakhine and Chin states. In Operation 1027, anti-junta forces seized the district-level town of Kawlin, Sagaing Region (later recaptured by junta forces) in early November 2023 as well as Laukkai, the capital of Kokang Self-Administered Zone, in early January 2024. Operation 1027 continued past a ceasefire in northern Shan State with Mrauk U, among others, falling to Arakan Army forces in February 2024.
In August 2017, a deadly crackdown by Myanmar's army on Rohingya Muslims sent hundreds of thousands fleeing across the border into Bangladesh. They risked everything to escape by sea or on foot a military offensive which the United Nations later described as a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing". In January 2020, the UN's top court ordered the Buddhist-majority country to take measures to protect members of its Rohingya community from genocide. But the army in Myanmar (formerly Burma) has said it was fighting Rohingya militants and denies targeting civilians. The country's leader Aung San Suu Kyi, once a human rights icon, has repeatedly denied allegations of genocide.
Insurgencies have been ongoing in Myanmar since 1948, the year the country, then known as Burma, gained independence from the United Kingdom. The conflict has largely been ethnic-based, with several ethnic armed groups fighting Myanmar's armed forces, the Tatmadaw, for self-determination. Despite numerous ceasefires and the creation of autonomous self-administered zones in 2008, many armed groups continue to call for independence, increased autonomy, or the federalisation of the country. The conflict is the world's longest ongoing civil war, having spanned more than seven decades.
Myanmar (Burmese: မြန်မာ; MLCTS: Mranma, pronounced [mjəmà]), officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, also known as Burma (the official name until 1989), is a country in Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has a population of about 55 million. It is bordered by Bangladesh and India to its northwest, China to its northeast, Laos and Thailand to its east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to its south and southwest. The country's capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city is Yangon (formerly Rangoon).Early civilisations in the area included the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states in Upper Myanmar and the Mon kingdoms in Lower Myanmar. In the 9th century, the Bamar people entered the upper Irrawaddy valley, and following the establishment of the Pagan Kingdom in the 1050s, the Burmese language, culture, and Theravada Buddhism slowly became dominant in the country. The Pagan Kingdom fell to Mongol invasions, and several warring states emerged. In the 16th century, reunified by the Taungoo dynasty, the country became the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia for a short period. The early 19th-century Konbaung dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Myanmar and briefly controlled Manipur and Assam as well. The British East India Company seized control of the administration of Myanmar after three Anglo-Burmese Wars in the 19th century, and the country became a British colony. After a brief Japanese occupation, Myanmar was reconquered by the Allies. On 4 January 1948, Myanmar declared independence under the terms of the Burma Independence Act 1947.Myanmar's post-independence history has continued to be checkered by unrest and conflict. The coup d'état in 1962 resulted in a military dictatorship under the Burma Socialist Programme Party. On 8 August 1988, the 8888 Uprising then resulted in a nominal transition to a multi-party system two years later, but the country's post-uprising military council refused to cede power, and has continued to rule the country through to the present. The country remains riven by ethnic strife among its myriad ethnic groups and has one of the world's longest-running ongoing civil wars. The United Nations and several other organisations have reported consistent and systemic human rights violations in the country. In 2011, the military junta was officially dissolved following a 2010 general election, and a nominally civilian government was installed. Aung San Suu Kyi and political prisoners were released and the 2015 Myanmar general election was held, leading to improved foreign relations and eased economic sanctions, although the country's treatment of its ethnic minorities, particularly in connection with the Rohingya conflict, continued to be a source of international tension and consternation. Following the 2020 Myanmar general election, in which Aung San Suu Kyi's party won a clear majority in both houses, the Burmese military (Tatmadaw) again seized power in a coup d'état. The coup, which was widely condemned by the international community, led to continuous ongoing widespread protests in Myanmar and has been marked by violent political repression by the military, as well as a larger outbreak of the civil war. The military also arrested Aung San Suu Kyi in order to remove her from public life, and charged her with crimes ranging from corruption to the violation of COVID-19 protocols; all of the charges against her are "politically motivated" according to independent observers.Myanmar is a member of the East Asia Summit, Non-Aligned Movement, ASEAN, and BIMSTEC, but it is not a member of the Commonwealth of Nations despite once being part of the British Empire. Myanmar is a Dialogue Partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The country is very rich in natural resources, such as jade, gems, oil, natural gas, teak and other minerals, as well as also endowed with renewable energy, having the highest solar power potential compared to other countries of the Great Mekong Subregion. However, Myanmar has long suffered from instability, factional violence, corruption, poor infrastructure, as well as a long history of colonial exploitation with little regard to human development. In 2013, its GDP (nominal) stood at US$56.7 billion and its GDP (PPP) at US$221.5 billion. The income gap in Myanmar is among the widest in the world, as a large proportion of the economy is controlled by cronies of the military junta. Myanmar is one of the least developed countries; as of 2020, according to the Human Development Index, it ranks 147 out of 189 countries in terms of human development, the lowest in Southeast Asia. Since 2021, more than 600,000 people were displaced across Myanmar due to the surge in violence post-coup, with more than 3 million people in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
The Karen conflict is an armed conflict in Kayin State, Myanmar (formerly known as Karen State, Burma). It is part of the wider internal conflict in Myanmar between the military government and various minority groups. Karen nationalists have been fighting for an independent state, known as Kawthoolei, since 1949. The Karen National Union (KNU) and its Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) are the most prominent Karen rebel groups. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced by the conflict, many of whom fled to neighbouring Thailand and survive in refugee camps.Tensions between the Karen people and the Bamar ethnic majority in Myanmar have existed since colonial-era based on the British 'direct and indirect rule' policy and Karen soldiers' roles in putting down Burmese rebellions in the late 19th century. Around the time of Burmese independence, the Karen National Defence Organisation (KNDO) was formed as an armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU) to put down a communist rebellion. After the Burmese government settled for peace and allowed communist back into national politics, a series of tensions, escalations and battles led to the KNU declaring formally war on the Burmese government on 31 January 1949.
Myawaddy (Burmese: မြဝတီ; Thai: เมียวดี; RTGS: Mia-wadi; S'gaw Karen: ရၤမတံ; Phlone ဍုံမေဝ်ပ္တီ) is a township in southeastern Myanmar, in Kayin State, close to the border with Thailand. Separated from the Thai border town of Mae Sot by the Moei River (Thaungyin River), the town is the most important trading point between Myanmar and Thailand. Myawaddy is 170 kilometres (110 mi) east of Mawlamyine, the fourth largest city of Myanmar, and 426 kilometres (265 mi) northwest of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.
The Tatmadaw (Burmese: တပ်မတော်; MLCTS: tatma.taw, IPA: [taʔmədɔ̀], lit. 'Grand Army') or Sit-Tat is the military of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include the Myanmar Police Force, the Border Guard Forces, the Myanmar Coast Guard, and the People's Militia Units. Since independence in 1948, the Tatmadaw has faced significant ethnic insurgencies, especially in Chin, Kachin, Kayin, Kayah, and Shan states. General Ne Win took control of the country in a 1962 coup d'état, attempting to build an autarkic society called the Burmese Way to Socialism. Following the violent repression of nationwide protests in 1988, the military agreed to free elections in 1990, but ignored the resulting victory of the National League for Democracy and imprisoned its leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The 1990s also saw the escalation of the conflict involving Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State due to RSO attacks on the Tatmadaw forces, which saw the Rohingya minority facing oppression and, starting in 2017, genocide.In 2008, the Tatmadaw again rewrote Myanmar's constitution, installing the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in the 2010 elections, which were boycotted by most opposition groups. Political reforms over the next half-decade culminated in a sweeping NLD victory in the 2015 election; after the USDP lost another election in 2020, the Tatmadaw annulled the election and deposed the civilian government. The Tatmadaw has been widely accused by international organizations of human rights violation and crimes against humanity; including ethnic cleansing, political repression, torture, sexual assault, war crimes, extrajudicial punishments (including summary executions) and massacre of civilians involved in peaceful political demonstrations. The Tatmadaw has long operated as a state within a state.According to the Constitution of Myanmar, the Tatmadaw is led by the commander-in-chief of Defence Services. Some actions of the Tatmadaw require the approval of the National Defence and Security Council, an eleven-member national security council responsible for security and defence affairs in Myanmar. The president of Myanmar has no command role over the Tatmadaw, though he may work with the NDSC in authorizing military action.
The Economy of Myanmar is the seventh largest in Southeast Asia. After the return of civilian rule in 2011, the new government launched large-scale reforms, focused initially on the political system to restore peace and achieve national unity and moving quickly to an economic and social reform program. Current economic statistics were a huge decline from the economic statistics of Myanmar in the fiscal year of 2020, in which Myanmar’s nominal GDP was $81.26 billion and its purchasing power adjusted GDP was $279.14 billion. The cause of the deterioration in the economy is due to the 2021 coup d’état by the Tatmadaw (armed forces) after they claimed that the elections were fraudulent. Myanmar's economy has been in economic crisis since the coup d’état in 2021.
The Karen National Union (Burmese: ကရင် အမျိုးသား အစည်းအရုံး; abbreviated KNU) is a political organisation with an armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), that claims to represent the Karen people of Myanmar (Burma). It operates in mountainous eastern Myanmar and has underground networks in other areas of Myanmar where Karen people live as a minority group.Some of the Karen, led primarily by the Karen National Union (KNU), have waged a war against the central government since early 1949. The aim of the KNU at first was independence. Since 1976 the armed group has called for a federal system rather than an independent Karen State. The Karen conflict is the second longest internal war in the world after the Dagohoy rebellion in the Philippines, having been waged since 31 January 1949.
Local authorities in Aceh province, Indonesia, discovered six more bodies of Rohingya refugees, bringing the total deaths to eleven after a boat carrying over 150 people capsized. The United Nations refugee agency confirmed the identity of the deceased women. About 1 million Rohingya refugees live in Bangladesh, including 740,000 who fled Myanmar's brutal campaign in 2017. Indonesia, like Thailand and Malaysia, is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention but offers temporary shelter to refugees in distress.
The Karen ( kə-REN), also known as the Kayin, Kariang or Kawthoolese, are an ethnolinguistic group of Sino-Tibetan language-speaking peoples. The group as a whole is heterogeneous and disparate as many Karen ethnic groups do not associate or identify with each other culturally or linguistically. These Karen groups reside primarily in Kayin State, southern and southeastern Myanmar. The Karen account for around seven percent of the Burmese population. Many Karen have migrated to Thailand, having settled mostly on the Myanmar–Thailand border. A few Karen have settled in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, and other Southeast Asian and East Asian countries.The Karen groups as a whole are often confused with the Padaung tribe, best known for the neck rings worn by their women, but they are just one sub-group of Red Karens (Karenni), one of the tribes of Kayah in Kayah State, Myanmar.Karen insurgent groups, led primarily by the Karen National Union (KNU), have waged war against the Burmese government since early 1949. The original aim of the KNU was to create an independent Karen homeland called Kawthoolei, but since 1976 they have shifted towards calling for a federal system in Myanmar instead. Even so, the KNU has declined invitations to speak with the Burmese government.
The Myanmar military has initiated basic training for draftees in military bases and schools nationwide following the activation of the country's conscription law. This move comes amidst ongoing conflicts, as evidenced by the Karen National Liberation Army and Peoples Defense Force capturing soldiers at an army outpost in Myawaddy township, Kayin state on March 11, 2024.
The Karen National Liberation Army Burmese: ကရင်အမျိုးသား လွတ်မြောက်ရေး တပ်မတော်; abbreviated KNLA) is the military branch of the Karen National Union (KNU), which campaigns for the self-determination of the Karen people of Myanmar (formerly Burma). The KNLA has been fighting the Burmese government since 1960s as part of the Karen conflict, which has been ongoing since 1949.The KNLA was reported to have had a strength of approximately 10,000 in 1970; 20,000 in 1980' 3,000 in 2001 and 5,000 in 2006, 6,000 in 2012, and 7,000 in 2014. As of early 2021, the KNLA is estimated to have around 15,000 troops. The army is divided into seven brigades and a 'Special Force' reserved for special operations.
Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing, head of the military council, and military officers inspect and march during a parade in Naypyitaw to commemorate Myanmar's 79th Armed Forces Day on March 27, 2024.
Myawaddy TV (Burmese: မြဝတီ ရုပ်မြင်သံကြား, abbreviated MWD) is a Myanmar military-owned propaganda network based in Yangon and Naypyidaw, Myanmar.
Myawaddy District (S'gaw Karen: ရါမတံၤကီၢ်ရ့ၣ်, Phlone:မေဝ်ပ္တီခြိုင့်,Burmese: မြဝတီခရိုင်) is a district of the Kayin State in Myanmar. It consists of a single township composed of 50 villages.
The Myanmar Army (Burmese: တပ်မတော်(ကြည်း); pronounced [taʔmədɔ̀ tɕí]) is the largest branch of the Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) of Myanmar (formerly Burma) and has the primary responsibility of conducting land-based military operations. The Myanmar Army maintains the second largest active force in Southeast Asia after the People's Army of Vietnam. It has clashed against ethnic and political insurgents since its inception in 1948.The force is headed by the Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar Army, currently Vice-Senior General Soe Win, concurrently Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services, with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing as the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services. The highest rank in the Myanmar Army is Senior General, equivalent to field marshal in Western armies and is currently held by Min Aung Hlaing after being promoted from Vice-Senior General. With Major General Zaw Min Tun serving as the official spokesman for the Myanmar Army.In 2011, following a transition from military government to civilian parliamentary government, the Myanmar Army imposed a military draft on all citizens: all males from age 18 to 35 and all females from 18 to 27 years of age can be drafted into military service for two years as enlisted personnel in time of national emergency. The ages for professionals are up to 45 for men and 35 for women for three years service as commissioned and non-commissioned officers.The Government Gazette reported that 1.8 trillion kyat (about US$2 billion), or 23.6 percent of the 2011 budget was for military expenditures.
Myawaddy Township (S'gaw Karen: ရါမတံၤကီၢ်ဆၣ်, Phlone မေဝ်ပ္တီကၞင့်; Burmese: မြဝတီမြို့နယ်) is a township of Myawaddy District in the Kayin State of Burma (Myanmar). It is the only township in Myawaddy District. The administrative seat is the town of Myawaddy.
Myawaddy is a town in Kayin State, Myanmar.Myawaddy may also refer to:Myawaddy DistrictMyawaddy TownshipMyawaddy TV, Burmese TV network
Thailand delivered its initial humanitarian aid to conflict-affected Myanmar by sending ten trucks filled with aid across the border from the northern province of Tak, with the aim to provide relief to millions of individuals displaced by the ongoing fighting.
A new UN report reveals that hundreds of thousands of individuals have been trafficked to Southeast Asia to operate online scams, where at least 120,000 in Myanmar and 100,000 in Cambodia have been forced into cybercrime. Victims are mostly men from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, lured under false promises and held captive in scam centers. The UN stresses the need for justice, highlighting weak governance in these regions. Indian citizens have also fallen victim, with some rescued from Cambodia, where they were coerced into illegal cyber activities. Government efforts to combat these criminal networks are underway.
Thailand's Constitutional Court is set to rule on the dissolution of the Move Forward party, which won the most seats in the last election, for allegedly violating the constitution by proposing to amend a law against defaming the royal family. The court accepted a petition from the Election Commission, seeking a 10-year ban on the party's executives. This action is viewed as part of a larger effort by conservative forces to suppress the progressive movement, following the dissolution of Move Forward's predecessor, Future Forward party, in 2020, which sparked pro-democracy protests against the monarchy.
Former Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has been appointed as the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' special envoy for Myanmar, a post that has been vacant for 10 months. Bishop replaces Noeleen Heyzer and brings extensive political, legal, management, and senior leadership experience to the role. The conflict in Myanmar escalated after the military takeover in 2021, with ongoing violence and resistance movements against the ruling military. The appointment comes at a critical time as Myanmar faces political, humanitarian, and security challenges.
Ashin Ariyavaṃsābhivaṃsa (Burmese: အရှင် အရိယဝံသာဘိဝံသ), better known as Myawaddy Sayadaw (Burmese: မြဝတီမင်းကြီးဆရာတော်; 1951 – 27 October 2022), was a Burmese monk and the abbot of Myawaddy Mingyi monastery in Mandalay. He was a prominent vocal critic of Buddhist nationalism, the military and military-backed organizations and businesses. He faced legal action in 2019 as a result of his public criticism of the military.
The following is a list of cities and largest towns in Myanmar with populations above 5,000, according to UNFPA Myanmar. The capitals of states and regions in Myanmar are bolded.
In Lopburi, Thailand, over 10,000 monkeys, including 2,200 in the old town area, have become increasingly aggressive, stealing food, vandalising properties, and causing injuries to people. Authorities armed with slingshots and tranquilliser guns have deployed cages to capture the monkeys, as previous sedation methods were ineffective. A special police unit has been established to combat the threat posed by the wild monkeys, following compensation agreements for victims of recent attacks.
Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin unveils a plan to provide 10,000 baht ($275) digital cash handouts to 50 million qualifying Thais for local business spending, funded from 2024 and 2025 fiscal budgets. The initiative aims to boost GDP growth by 1.2 to 1.6 percentage points, with additional funding from the state's Bank for Agriculture for farmers. Purchases are restricted to recipients' districts, excluding oil, services, and online transactions, to promote local commerce. Despite prior criticisms, the PM views this as a transformative policy delayed by transparency and legal requirements.
Thailand is in the middle of mainland Southeast Asia. It has a total size of 513,120 km2 (198,120 sq mi) which is the 50th largest in the world. The land border is 4,863 km (3,022 mi) long with Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia. The nation's axial position influenced many aspects of Thailand's society and culture. It controls the only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore. It has an exclusive economic zone of 299,397 km2 (115,598 sq mi).
Thailand announced the approval of 18 proposals on projects under the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Special Fund, aiming to boost the region's comprehensive development and bolster the well-being of local people. Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) is a multilateral format established in 2016 for cooperation between the riparian states of the Lancang and Mekong Rivers. The cooperation includes six member countries, namely Cambodia, China, Lao, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Thailand is a main initiator and important member of the LMC and a co-chair this year. The LMC Special Fund is committed to supporting small and medium-sized projects that are initiated under the LMC framework and to delivering tangible benefits for the people of the six member countries.
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