Five years after the military seized power in a coup, Myanmar's civil war remains a brutal stalemate, shifting from rebel offensives back to army reprisals.
The War's Tide Turns
Myanmar's military junta has regained the offensive in its ongoing civil war, leveraging forced conscription and an aggressive drone warfare strategy to push back against rebel gains. For two years, an alliance of ethnic armed groups and pro-democracy resistance forces held significant territory. Now, the army is fighting to reclaim it.
Human Cost and Displacement
Thousands of people have been killed, and millions more have been displaced since the coup five years ago. The conflict, which began when the military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, shows no signs of abating. Civilians remain trapped between advancing rebel columns and a retaliating army.
Inside Rebel Territory
BBC journalist Quentin Sommerville has gained rare access to rebel-held areas in Bago and Karen states—zones the military has banned foreign media from entering. Reporting without government permission, he documents a landscape of bunkers, drone shelters, and a population exhausted by war.
"The rebels were celebrating big wins two years ago. Now, they are bracing for the army's counterpunch."
Key Tactical Shifts
The military's recent advantage is built on two pillars:
- Forced Conscription: The junta has begun forcibly drafting young men and women to replenish its depleted ranks.
- Drone Warfare: Both sides now use drones for reconnaissance and bombing, but the military's superior industrial capacity is giving it the edge.
Rebel commanders admit they are struggling to adapt to the new aerial threat, with many of their frontline positions now exposed to precision strikes from army drones.
A Stalled Resolution
No credible peace process is underway. The military insists on holding elections (which critics call a sham), while the rebel alliance demands a full return to civilian rule. With neither side able to deliver a decisive knockout blow, the conflict has settled into a grinding war of attrition that continues to devastate the country.