On Myanmar’s Front Line: Armed resistance gathers pace
Behind the scenes as pro-democracy rebels in Myanmar fight against government repression.
Editor’s note: This film contains some distressing images.
In the aftermath of Myanmar’s military coup in February 2021, and the brutal suppression of the protests that followed, thousands of pro-democracy activists decided to fight back against the generals.
Many fled into the remote countryside to join the armed resistance, known collectively as the People’s Defence Force (PDF), and seek training, weapons and support from long-established ethnic rebel groups, such as the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), which have been battling the Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, for several decades.
People & Power gained access to some of those on the front line in an increasingly brutal conflict that’s largely hidden from the world’s gaze.