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Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is China’s territorial neighbour, and currently holds 135 officially recognized ethnic groups and some of the largest reserves of rare earth materials. It is also a nation which has faced decades of intrastate violence between its military government, the Tatmadaw, and its various Ethnic Armed organisations. They hold control over their individual townships yet are constantly fighting for control over the region. Intrastate violence in Myanmar is an issue that has been entrenched for decades; the country has been stuck in an extreme state of civil war since the military government took power in 2021. We are yet to see any tangible intervention or beginning of a peace process by the international community.
In 2021, Myanmar had a military coup, where the military, led by, Min Aung Hlaing, seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, and her party, the National League for Democracy. Since the coup, Myanmar has seen a major escalation of violence between the newly in power military government and the ethnic armed groups who hold control over the 7 autonomous regions which make up Myanmar.
Now, almost 6 years on, violence has intensified, armed groups are losing control of their townships, citizens face relentless airstrikes from military forces and face attacks from the ethnic armed groups themselves. China’s supply of weaponry to both warring sides seems to be permeating a never-ending deep-rooted conflict, where there are countless casualties and displaced people fleeing to refugee camps in neighbouring regions. However, the military government remains stronger than ever, bolstered by the support of its ally, China, the Tatmadaw’s leader, General Hlaing, cemented his power in April this year where he was sworn in as President following an election which all major opposition parties were banned from participating in. The government is in such a strong position where it is able to enforce legislation which ensures it remains in power. In 2025, a law was passed to criminalise the criticism of elections, where the sentence is up to 20 years of imprisonment or in some cases the death penalty. This raises serious questions about the fairness of the election of the ability of opposition groups to challenge Hlaing’s rule. However, as Nicholas Koumjian (UN investigator) put, “behind every piece of evidence we collect, are people whose lives have been devastated by these crimes”, and so the people imprisoned for the purpose of Hlaing’s win, or the 3.9 million people displaced due to consistent fighting, cannot be overlooked in the way the international community has done thus far. Myanmar: UN investigators document deliberate military attacks on civilians | UN News
What does the conflict now look like?
As Myanmar is officially in its 5th year of civil war, the situation is worsening day by day for its citizens. With an estimated 1 in 3 people in need of humanitarian assistance, and deaths having surpassed 100,000, the situation is dire, yet still often forgotten, with the international community claiming that China’s economic hold over Myanmar makes it difficult to address the situation.
The recent Falam attacks:
Falam, a key township in Myanmar’s Chin State, near the Indian border, has been recently controlled by the armed group, the CDF. The town houses one of Myanmar’s largest airports and has thus been a recent site of attack by the military forces due to its trade routes into the Indian border. Therefore, both the CDF and military government are in pursuit of power over the area. The town itself, despite holding many administrative sites, is a peaceful area where residents live, which doesn’t seem to stop the violent tug of war for control of the region.
Last year, military forces launched an attack against the CDF in Falam, through airstrikes and ground campaigns. The CDF, among other opposition groups had gained control of Falam in 2023, however this was lost only 2 years later where the military re-established power over the area. This is just one example of how the opposition groups seem to be weakening and slowly losing territory to the Tatmadaw. It is believed that Myanmar’s newly enforced conscription policy, that has significantly increased their troops, is another avenue for the government to deepen its control over the country and take over areas such as Falam.
UN Annual Report:
The UN’s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), led by Nicholas Koumjian, published its latest report in June this year, where clear documentation of the atrocities since 2025 has been gathered. They have found that deliberate airstrikes have been conducted by the military on civilians, schools, hospitals, religious buildings and displacement camps. New technology is also being used by the military, often drones or motorised paraglides, making it even harder for civilians to escape these attacks. The report has also highlighted the treatment of individuals imprisoned by the military government in detention facilities, where there are reports of widespread torture and sexual violence. It is crucial to shed light on how widespread these continuous atrocities are, and how the people of Myanmar are still living in a continuous cycle of violence.
“Communities across Myanmar are not only living under the constant threat of violence, but are also coping with the profound and lasting impact of what they have endured” – Nicholas Koumjian, UN
So, in a state where there is not only a violent military government in power attacking its citizens, imprisoning opposition, and a plethora of violence, how can peace and reconciliation be achieved? With ethnic armed groups launching attacks to establish their own control, the diverse country is deeply divided, where 3.9 million of its population are living as displaced people, as their homes, schools and communities have been destroyed. What does a peace process look like in Myanmar, where a seemingly never-ending war is encapsulating a fractured nation?
Edited by Cristina Ferrin Pereda
Image: Union Of Myanmar Flag Or Burma Flag, icon0 com, n.d. // CC0 Public Domain
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