Myanmar operates de jure as a unitary assembly-independent presidential republic under its 2008 constitution. On 1 February 2021, Myanmar's military took over the government in a coup, causing ongoing anti-coup protests.
The Lisu people are a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group who inhabit mountainous regions of Myanmar (Burma), southwest China, Thailand, and the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
Kachin State is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east, Shan State to the south, and Sagaing Region and India to the west. It lies between north latitude 23° 27' and 28° 25' longitude 96° 0' and 98° 44'. The area of Kachin State is 89,041 km2 (34,379 sq mi). The capital of the state is Myitkyina. Other important towns include Bhamo, Mohnyin and Putao.
The National Unity Party (NUP) is a political party in Myanmar (Burma). It is the successor to the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), which ruled the country from 1962 to 1988. The party's headquarters are in Bahan Township, Yangon.
The Shan Nationalities League for Democracy is a de-registered political party in Myanmar (Burma). The party was established on 26 October 1988, and campaigns for the interests of the Shan people. The SNLD became the largest Shan party in the Assembly of the Union following the 2015 general election. The party is a federal party having local branches in most townships in Shan State and few in other states and regions such as Kayah, Kachin, and Mandalay.
The Union Solidarity and Development Party is an ultranationalist, pro-military political party in Myanmar. Alongside the National League for Democracy, it is one of Myanmar's two principal national parties. USDP is the successor to the former ruling military junta's mass organisation, the Union Solidarity and Development Association, and serves as the electoral proxy of the Tatmadaw (military), which operates as a state within a state. Many of its political candidates and leadership are retired generals. It supports authoritarian military leadership. USDP was founded by Prime Minister Thein Sein to contest the 2010 Myanmar general election; the party was headed by Sein until 2013. Since 2022, it has been led by Khin Yi, who was installed as a loyalist of military leader Min Aung Hlaing.
The Democratic Party is a political party in Myanmar (Burma), founded in 1988. It was formally registered in May 2010, with its headquarters in Pazundaung Township, Yangon.
The Arakan Army, officially the Arakha Army is an ethnic armed organisation based in Rakhine State (Arakan). Founded on 10 April 2009, the AA is the military wing of the United League of Arakan (ULA). It is currently led by Commander-in-Chief Major General Twan Mrat Naing and vice deputy commander-in-chief Brigadier General Nyo Twan Awng. The Arakan Army states that the objective of its armed revolution is to restore the sovereignty of the Arakan people. In a February 2024 interview, Twan Mrat Naing claimed that the AA had grown to at least 38,000 troops. Anthony Davis, an expert of military and security, rejected this claim and estimated that it has at least 15,000 troops in Chin State and Rakhine State, in addition to around 1500 in Kachin State and Shan State. In the early 2010s, the Arakan Army fought alongside the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) against the Tatmadaw in the Kachin conflict. Following the 2016 outbreak of conflict in Rakhine state, AA became more heavily involved in the Arakan region. In 2019, AA would launch attacks on state security forces and the Myanmar Army would respond heightening clashes. The AA reached a ceasefire in late 2020 after eroding the central government's control in northern Rakhine. The power vacuum would be filled by the AA over the next 18 months with state-building efforts, like their COVID-19 vaccine rollouts.
The Arakan National Party, is a political party in Myanmar (Burma), representing the interests of the Rakhine people in Rakhine State and Yangon Region. The party was founded on 13 January 2014 and registered with the Union Election Commission on 6 March 2014. The chairman of the ANP is Thar Htun Hla. The party is known for its hardline ethnic nationalist stance, as well as its Islamophobic and anti-Rohingya positions. Some members of the party were involved in instigating violence against Rohingya people during the communal riots in 2012, which left dozens dead and thousands homeless.
The Inn National Development Party is an Intha political party in Myanmar.
T Khun Myat is a Burmese politician, lawyer and Speaker of the Union Assembly, the Joint House and Pyithu Hluttaw, the lower house of the Myanmar parliament. In both 2010 election and 2015 election, he contested and won the Kutkai Township constituency for a seat in the country's lower house.
Soe Win is a Burmese army general and the current Deputy Prime Minister of Myanmar. Appointed following the formation of the caretaker government on 1 August 2021, Soe Win hold essential roles, including Vice Chairman of the State Administration Council (SAC), Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Tatmadaw, and Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Army. He is also a member of Myanmar's National Defence and Security Council (NDSC). In May 2012, former President of Myanmar, Thein Sein appointed Soe Win to the working committee of the government team responsible for negotiating with Myanmar's many armed ethnic rebel groups. He is a close associate of former Vice Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), Vice-Senior General Maung Aye.
The Shanni Nationalities Army is a Shanni insurgent group active in northern Sagaing Region and Kachin State, Myanmar (Burma). It was founded as a group in 1989 but was transformed into an armed group in January 2016 by expelled Shanni members of the Kachin Independence Army. The SNA has five objectives – to gain statehood, to fight drugs, to establish a federal Union, to build unity among all Shan sub-groups, and to conserve ecological balance.
The Arakan Front Party is a political party in Myanmar seeking Arakanese self-determination and holding hardline ultranationalist, anti-Rohingya and anti-Islam stances. It was founded on 11 October 2018 by Dr. Aye Maung, former chairman of the Arakan National Party, and his colleagues, including his son Tin Maung Win.
The People's Defence Force is the armed wing of the National Unity Government in Myanmar. The armed wing was formed by the NUG from youths and pro-democracy activists on 5 May 2021 in response to the coup d'état that occurred on 1 February 2021 that put the military junta and their armed wing the Tatmadaw in power. The military junta designated it as a terrorist organisation on 8 May 2021. In October 2021, NUG's Ministry of Defence announced that it had formed a central committee to coordinate military operations across the country.
In Myanmar's next general election, voters are expected to elect representatives to both the Amyotha Hluttaw and the Pyithu Hluttaw of the Assembly of the Union. The planned election would be the first after the 2021 military coup d'état. Though the military junta, the State Administration Council, initially promised to hold the election by August 2023, it has since indefinitely delayed the election in the face of increasing violence.
The Myanmar civil war, also called the Burmese Spring Revolution, Burmese civil war or People's Defensive War, is an ongoing civil war following Myanmar's long-running insurgencies, which escalated significantly in response to the 2021 military coup d'état and the subsequent violent crackdown on anti-coup protests. The exiled National Unity Government and major ethnic armed organisations repudiated the 2008 Constitution and called instead for a democratic federal state. Besides engaging this rebel alliance, the junta also contends with other anti-junta forces in areas under its control. Hannah Beech of The New York Times observed the insurgents are apportioned into hundreds of armed groups scattered across the country.
The following is a timeline of major events during the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), following the 2021 military coup d'état and protests. It was also a renewed intensity in existing internal conflict in Myanmar.
The Kachin Independence Army's (KIA) offensive in Kachin State, known unofficially as Operation 0307, is an ongoing military operation against the Tatmadaw military junta of Myanmar which began on 7 March 2024. Primarily centred along the road connecting Myitkyina to Bhamo, Operation 0307 was launched to capture junta bases which could threaten Laiza, the headquarters of the KIA. Operation 0307 was launched alongside concurrent KIA offensives against Hpakant and northern Shan State, and concurrent resistance offensives throughout Myanmar.
