Kathrine Frich
The military junta does not fight alone.
Most people know what it feels like to be ignored.
You wave your hands and watch the crowd walk right past.
For millions trapped in a brutal conflict, that sense of total abandonment is a daily reality.
A forgotten frontline
While cameras point at Eastern Europe, a bloody civil war is grinding down the people of Myanmar. Rebels fighting a military junta are quickly losing ground.
The government forces hold an overwhelming advantage in numbers and raw firepower.
According to the New York Times cited by Digi24, foreign journalists recently gained rare access to Anyar. This arid region serves as a major resistance stronghold. But the situation looks grim.
Rebel fighters face constant threats from above.
Government troops attack them with weaponized drones, fighter jets, and heavily armed helicopters. Soldiers even drop explosives from low-flying paragliders as they pass over the villages.
Begging for help
The military junta does not fight alone. It buys heavy weapons from Russia and China to maintain control over the battered population. Meanwhile, the resistance feels completely shut out by the West.
“We are running out of bullets,” rebel commander Lone Lone told the New York Times. His fighters want to establish a federal democracy. Instead, they are watching their supply lines dry up while western money flows elsewhere.
“I feel depressed about our revolution because we don’t have the support of the United States and Europe, even though we are fighting for a federal democracy,” he added.
Nowhere to hide
The human cost is staggering. Since the coup five years ago, violence has claimed more than 90,000 lives. A recent United Nations report also noted that 3.7 million people have lost their homes.
Fleeing soldiers leave landmines hidden near Buddhist temples. And the locals suffer through it all without internet access.
“Death is everywhere,” Daw Wah Wah, a local restaurant owner, explained to reporters.
San Nyaung, another local resident, clearly sees the tragic parallels with other global conflicts. “I know about Ukraine, Gaza. I feel very sorry for them. We share the same sadness,” he said.
Losing faith
The relentless pressure is breaking spirits. Rebel units that once captured strategic towns are now retreating into the wilderness. Lone Lone recently watched his own battalion shrink by half after a brutal fight.
“If I can’t win the revolution, I will become a monk,” the commander admitted.
“I try to meditate all the time, but sometimes in this world, it’s too difficult,” he said.
Sources: Digi24, New York Times, United Nations, ACLED
