The Myanmar civil war began following the military coup on 1 February 2021. The seizure of power triggered mass anti-coup demonstrations and a violent crackdown by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar armed forces), which significantly escalated the country's longstanding insurgencies.

In response to the coup, the exiled National Unity Government (NUG) and major ethnic armed organisations repudiated the 2008 Constitution and called instead for a democratic federal state. Besides engaging this alliance, the ruling military junta the State Administration Council (SAC), led by Min Aung Hlaing, contended with other anti-regime forces in areas under its control. The insurgents are apportioned into hundreds of armed groups scattered across the country.

As of March 2023 the United Nations estimated that since the coup, 17.6 million people in Myanmar required humanitarian assistance, 1.6 million were internally displaced, and over 55,000 civilian buildings had been destroyed. In May 2026, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that around 299,000 people had fled to neighboring countries such as Bangladesh, India, and Thailand.

By 2022, the opposition controlled substantial, though sparsely populated, territory. By October 2023, the Tatmadaw controlled under 40% of the country, though it maintained that it controlled around two-thirds of the country's 330 townships.Junta Controls Fewer Than 100 of Myanmar’s 350 Towns: NUG The Irrawaddy. 13 August 2024. In the second half of 2023, Chinland Defense Forces in Chin State 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 offensive by the People's Defense Force (PDF) and Three Brotherhood Alliance in the west of the country, which took 80 bases, 220 SAC positions, and several towns by 28 November 2023.

October 2023 saw the beginning of a series of concurrent anti-SAC offensives. In Operation 1027, anti-SAC forces seized Laukkai, the capital of Kokang Self-Administered Zone. Operation 1111 besieged the state capital of Loikaw. Arakan Army (AA) seized Mrauk U, among other towns, in an offensive in northern Rakhine state. By February 2024, thousands of the SAC's soldiers had surrendered without a fight, including six Tatmadaw generals. The Sit-tat uses terror tactics against the population, including burnings, beheadings, mutilations, war rape, torching villages, and a massive aerial bombing campaign that has displaced nearly three million people. The Myanmar Air Force has dropped more bombs per capita than have been dropped in the Russo-Ukrainian war. A group of observers wrote that the Sit-tat's forces remain formidable, with external allies and economic resources.

In March 2024, anti-SAC forces in southeastern Myanmar captured Demoso and Papun, bringing the number of district-level towns captured by anti-SAC forces to eight. In June, Matupi was captured by Chin resistance. The Three Brotherhood Alliance then restarted Operation 1027, capturing Kyaukme in June and two more district-level towns in July. On 3 August, the MNDAA captured Lashio, the largest town in northern Shan State and headquarters of the Tatmadaw's Northeastern Command. On 20 December 2024, the Arakan Army captured the Tatmadaw's Western Command headquarters in Ann, Rakhine State.

After the deadly 2025 Myanmar earthquake, the NUG declared a two-week pause on offensives, and the SAC announced a ceasefire from 2 April to 22 April, despite continuing airstrikes on rebel groups. On 31 July, the SAC announced its dissolution and transferred power to the National Defence and Security Council under the chairmanship of Min Aung Hlaing. Continued junta counteroffensives saw success in northern Shan state, retaking the district capital of Kyaukme on 2 October 2025. The TNLA withdrew from Mogok and Mongmit due to supply issues and the MNDAA fully withdrew from Lashio under Chinese pressure. Fighting has continued variously in all regions and states of Myanmar, including Naypyidaw Union Territory.

Background Internal conflict in Myanmar

Insurgencies have been ongoing in Myanmar since 1948, largely along ethnic lines. Communists and the Karen National Union opposed the central government. During the 20th century, several prominent ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) rose and fell in influence and control. Larger rebel factions such as the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) formed in response to the 1962 coup d'état.Pavković, 2011: 476 The 8888 Uprising also drove protestors to ethnic rebel territory, forming Bamar militias.

The Tatmadaw took control of the government directly and severely weakened ethnic insurgent groups, destroying most of their bases and strongholds through the 1990s, including Kokang and Karen State.

As part of reforms, the 2008 Constitution created self-administered zones with increased autonomy, without embracing a federal system. The 2015 Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) was signed between eight EAOs and the central government, but began to fall apart by 2018, due to alleged violations by Tatmadaw soldiers. Many non-signatories continued the conflict. In late 2016, four non-signatories of the NCA, including the KIA and Arakan Army, formed the Northern Alliance and resumed war.

2021 coup d'état and protests

On 1 February 2021, the Tatmadaw overthrew the elected government in a coup d'état, forming a State Administration Council (SAC) and detaining National League for Democracy (NLD) leadership. Min Aung Hlaing was installed as the de facto ruler of the country.

The Tatmadaw claimed that the 2020 general elections had 8.6 million voter irregularities, but presented no evidence. The coup has been a way to reestablish the military's absolute dominance, after a decade of civilian rule.

Prelude

The bloody repression of anti-coup demonstrations led to the creation of armed groups to fight the SAC. These groups then aligned with the National Unity Government (NUG), formed by ousted parliamentarians, under the name of the People's Defence Force (PDF). The PDF and the NUG declared a "defensive war" against SAC rule in September 2021.

Armed protesters By late March 2021, dozens of protesters per day had been travelling to Myanmar's border areas to enlist in and train under one of the country's many insurgent groups, elevating the risk of a countrywide civil war. The Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) also proposed the formation of a "Federal Armed Force" to combat the military, and in late March the Arakan Army (AA) threatened to end its ceasefire with the military should the latter "persist in massacring civilians".

In late March, protesters increasingly began arming themselves with homemade weapons in an attempt to defend themselves against attacks by the military. Clashes with soldiers and IED attacks against administrative buildings and police stations became more common and protesters slowly became armed resistance.

After about 30 years of dormancy, the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB), became active again on 15 March 2021 when communist fighters crossed from China into Kachin State, where the Kachin Independence Army gave them weapons. By August 2021, the CPB had established a new armed wing to fight the SAC. Over the next two years, the PLA presence grew in Tanintharyi Region, where they fought alongside the PDF, claiming to have 1,000 active troops in December 2023.

Renewed ethnic conflict The unrest across the nation and increased need for SAC troops in previously peaceful urban areas strengthened EAOs. The Kachin Independence Army had already been on the offensive since February and seized the military's base of Alaw Bum near the town of Laiza on 25 March 2021. The next day, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) attacked a military base, killing 10 SAC soldiers and taking others hostage in their first attack since the protests began. The next day saw the 2021 Kalay clashes, where protesters first openly used homemade weapons against soldiers, targeting security forces attacking a protest camp.

SAC declared that it would cease all military operations on 29 March 2021 and hold bilateral negotiations with ethnic armed groups. But the Kachin Independence Army continued its offensives, saying the Myanmar Army had not in fact ceased operations. Seven insurgent groups who were signatories to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement aligned themselves with the National Unity Government (NUG), including the All Burma Student Democratic Front (ABSDF) and the Karen National Union (KNU). The Northern Alliance, comprising the Arakan Army, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, attacked a police station in Naungmon, Shan State, killing at least 10 police officers and indicating their disregard of the SAC's call for a ceasefire. In response, on 11 April 2021, the military junta launched a counterattack to recapture the Alaw Bum base using airstrikes and ground troops, but had to retreat amidst heavy casualties.

On 26 April 2021, the Battle of Mindat became one of the first large-scale conflicts arising from the 2021 coup. The Chinland Defense Force (CDF) began armed resistance in Mindat, Chin State and the SAC declared martial law. After a soldier allegedly fired at protesters, fighting between the two sides erupted. The battle lasted four days, killing 30 SAC soldiers and leaving Mindat abandoned as more than 10,000 people fled the area.

Timeline

Onset of formal resistance and war (May 2021 – August 2021) On 16 April 2021, pro-democracy politician Min Ko Naing announced the formation of the National Unity Government, with members of ethnic minority groups in senior roles. As part of the announcement he said that ousted leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint would retain their positions and asked the international community to recognize their government over the SAC. Throughout April, informal clashes with protesters intensified, such as in Taze when protesters fought back against soldiers with hunting rifles and firebombs on 8 April.

The National Unity Government declared the formation of an armed wing, the People's Defence Force (PDF), on 5 May 2021, a date often cited as the start of the civil war. The PDF was formed to protect its supporters from SAC attacks and as a first step towards a Federal Union Army. The PDF clashed with the Tatmadaw in the town of Muse on 23 May, killing at least 13 members of Myanmar's security forces.

In early June, fighting erupted in Myawaddy District where the military and Karen Border Guard Forces battled against a combined Karen and PDF force, leaving dozens of SAC troops killed. Members of the Karenni PDF in Kayah State also captured and destroyed several Tatmadaw outposts near the state capital, Loikaw. Towards the end of May, the Tatmadaw used artillery and helicopters to strike PDF positions in Loikaw and Demoso. On 30 May, the KIA joined the PDF in a battle against SAC troops in Katha Township, killing eight SAC soldiers. Fighting also sprouted up in other Kachin State townships, including Putao, Hpakant and Momauk.