Inside Myanmar’s five-year armed resistance – a photo essay | Myanmar
In Local resistance managed to take control of the army in Tanintharyi, the southernmost region of Myanmar. After five years of guerrilla warfare, the revolutionary youth there remains determined to restore democracy through armed struggle.
The Tanintharyi region, a long, narrow strip of land at the southern tip of Myanmar stretching between the Andaman Sea in the west and Thailand in the east, is one of the areas where insurgency is challenging the army’s authority. The region has for decades been home to an armed insurgency led by the Karen ethnic minority, operating mostly in the surrounding mountains.
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Resistance fighters fire mortars at Myanmar army positions in the Tanintharyi region. Three rounds are launched in rapid succession before the young warriors rush for cover, fearing retaliatory artillery fire.
After the coup and the wave of popular uprisings, the local guerrilla movement grew dramatically.
On February 1, 2021, the military overthrew the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi, ending a decade of democratic experiments in Myanmar. Peaceful protests against the coup were brutally suppressed, and young people at the forefront of the opposition were forced to join the armed resistance. The country was then plunged into the chaos of war, with the junta facing multiple armed groups, some born of the coup itself and others comprised of ethnic minorities who had defended themselves for generations against the tyranny of the Tatmadaw, the Burmese army.
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Fighters from local resistance group PDF patrol near the town of Ta Ku along the Tanintharyi River, one of the main waterways in southern Myanmar. Rebels control almost half of the Tanintharyi region; This includes rural areas and many navigable roads.
In the Tanintharyi region, thousands of young people from various ethnic and religious backgrounds, fueled by hatred for the junta that indiscriminately commits war crimes and massacres civilians, have left major regional cities to join the jungle and learn to use weapons. The region later witnessed the rise of local pro-democracy battalions that formed spontaneously in Myanmar after the coup: the People’s Defense Force. This new generation of urban activists, together with the main local ethnic armed group, the Karen National Union (KNU), seized large areas in the Tanintharyi region. They challenged the junta forces by coming down from the mountains and advancing towards the sea towards the plains towards the coastal towns.
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Clockwise from top left: A young rebel, a member of a drone unit, hides on the front lines as night falls on the Tanintharyi region; a young man who runs away from his family home to join the jungle resistance and the PDF; rebel soldiers are being treated in an improvised hospital hidden deep in the forests of the Tanintharyi region; warriors sleep near the front line
As Myanmar enters its fifth year of military dictatorship in 2026, the resistance faces many challenges. After several years of advances across the country that caught a weakened junta off guard and raised hopes of the regime’s collapse, the rebels are facing a bloody counter-offensive from the Tatmadaw. Myanmar’s military, reinforced by more than 80,000 forcibly recruited soldiers and backed by Beijing, is attacking on multiple fronts and forcing some rebel groups to withdraw from strategic areas.
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Resistance members carry the coffin of one of their comrades, known as Thougt Thougt, who was killed at the age of 22 on the Tanintharyi front. Three more young warriors died the same day, and several small improvised cemeteries emerge from the bush. In total, the war cost the lives of more than 90,000 people.
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Left: Ma Jack, a member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy. He has been living in the forest for five years and fighting out of necessity “so that future generations do not have to endure the brutality of the junta.” Right: Members of the Karen ethnic group celebrate the new year in the Tanintharyi region. Off to the side, resistance fighters from the community stand guard to protect the ceremony. Such public gatherings are frequently the target of air strikes.
In the Tanintharyi region, the multi-ethnic local resistance is fighting shoulder to shoulder to hold on to the captured lands. Ammunition is scarce and enemy troops and aircraft pose a constant threat. However, the guerrillas hold their ground. In November, the local rebellion scored a major victory, capturing Mawdaung, a border town and important trade route to Thailand. The Tatmadaw is trying to retake it at all costs but is encountering fierce resistance. Across Myanmar, rebels still control nearly half the country (precise estimates are difficult) and continue to advance on new fronts despite a counter-offensive.
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During the day, soldiers and villagers often share their daily lives and bathe in rivers, as seen here with a young elephant.
The people of Tanintharyi are paying a heavy price for the rebellion. Across Myanmar, the junta has stepped up its violence to suppress the insurgency by targeting civilians, bombing them, and destroying villages. According to Acled (the armed conflict location and event data project), aerial and drone attacks have increased by nearly 30% in 2025, making it the deadliest year since the coup.
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On 13 December, several rebel groups arrived at the front near Theybu to strengthen local resistance. Besides the PDF and the KNU (including a Muslim battalion), there is the Federal Forces for Democracy, largely composed of young fighters from Yangon; the People’s Liberation Army, based on communist ideology; and the Bamar People’s Liberation Army, which represents the Bamar, Myanmar’s Buddhist and majority ethnic group.
According to the UN, the war has claimed the lives of more than 90,000 people and displaced more than 3.5 million people. Almost half of Myanmar’s 55 million people need humanitarian assistance, and the situation continues to worsen.
