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. 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. 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. While there were fewer conflict deaths between May and September, there were still many armed clashes and a spike in early June. Two dozen local officials appointed by the military were assassinated throughout the month of June with hundreds of bombings at police stations, banks and government offices. On 22 June, SAC forces using armoured vehicles raided a safehouse of the PDF in Mandalay, detaining several fighters. Myanmar security forces killed at least 25 people in another raid in Tabayin. These attacks occurred in Central Myanmar, also known as Anya, an area that had rarely seen armed violence in recent times. On 2 July, troops assaulted several villages in Sagaing Region and reportedly killed 41 civilians. The Washington Post described how Myanmar was sliding toward "bloody anarchy".
==== Declaration of war ==== On 7 September 2021, the NUG declared a state of emergency across the nation and launched what they called the "people's defensive war" against the SAC. The declaration of war increased the number of skirmishes and clashes between PDF militias, EAOs and the SAC across the country. According to the NUG in September 2021, over 1,700 SAC soldiers had been killed and 630 wounded in fighting during the preceding three months. Several major clashes took place from September to October in Chin State, Sagaing Region, Magwe Region, Kayah State and Shan State. On 18 September, the Pa-O National Army, a pro-SAC militia active in the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone, aided the SAC in capturing a resistance base near Aungban. By late September 2021, 8,000 residents of Thantlang town, Chin state, fled to Mizoram, India after their houses were set ablaze by the SAC army. Ambushes by anti-SAC forces in Shan State also killed at least 20 soldiers. On 16 November 2021, SAC forces overran and captured the base camp of Kalay PDF in southwestern Sagaing Region, killing 2 fighters and capturing 9 Kalay PDF medics. In October, SAC-controlled media reported that at least 406 junta informants had been killed and 285 wounded since 1 February in targeted attacks by resistance forces.
Initial conflict (September 2021 – August 2022)
==== 2021–2022 dry season campaigns ==== According to analyst Matthew Arnold, the civil war's momentum had passed a critical threshold by the end of the 2022 dry season, when revolutionary sentiment had grown into a broader social and armed resistance that the SAC could no longer suppress. Towards the end of 2021, direct armed clashes gave way to more bombings, explosive devices and landmines. The PDF, with strong ground support from local communities, attacked soft government targets like police stations, outposts and military-owned businesses. Through these, the resistance became more organised as they seized weapons, underwent training and communicated between units through the help of the NUG and allied EAOs. According to the Karen National Union, roughly 2,200 SAC soldiers and militiamen were killed in the first half of 2022.
South-eastern Myanmar
On 17 November 2021, dozens of SAC soldiers ambushed an outpost of the Moebye PDF in Pekon Township, Shan State, forcing the outnumbered PDF soldiers to retreat. At least four SAC soldiers were killed during a four-day clash in Hpruso Township with the KNDF and Karenni Army. On 14 December, around 200 Tatmadaw troops searched the Karen National Union (KNU)-controlled town of Lay Kay Kaw Myothit near the Thai border, arresting people suspected to be activists or members of the PDF. On 20 December, SAC forces burned down nineteen houses in Kunnar, Loikaw Township after taking it from the KNDF the week before. On 24 December, more than 35 people were massacred when they were ambushed by SAC troops outside the village of Mo So in Kayah State. Two staff members of the aid group Save the Children were among those killed. The United Nations Security Council condemned the attack and called for a "thorough and transparent investigation" into the incident. Throughout February and March 2022, the SAC carried out repeated air strikes against civilian targets in villages in Shan, Kayin and Kayah States. On 17 February alone, around 20 SAC soldiers and 20 resistance fighters were killed in clashes in Mobye, southern Shan State. Witnesses described soldiers systematically looting jewelry, cash, vehicles, and other valuables. Amnesty International reported these actions as collective punishment against the country's ethnic minorities. Fighting broke out in parts of Loikaw on 14 April. The number of refugees on the Thai border increased after increased combat in Kayin State. On 15 April, SAC soldiers suffered at least 30 casualties after being pushed back by the KNLA at the battle for Lay Kay Kaw.
Central Myanmar
The Dry Zone, the historical heartland of Myanmar, had rarely seen armed violence in the modern conflict in Myanmar since 1948 as a predominantly Buddhist and Bamar farming region. The fighting in the Anya theater of Central Myanmar starting in 2021 changed this trajectory. Without the presence of EAOs, the Bamar PDF groups are characterized as local cells acting autonomously towards simple goals and directed towards the 2021 coup. In the 2021–2022 dry season, the PDFs began to work more closely together and coordinate towards larger goals. In early 2022, resistance forces were fighting in Monywa, the capital of Sagaing Region. Resistance attacks on the SAC saw the SAC retaliate on civilians Targeted personnel attacks increased, killing various SAC personnel and destroying equipment. The PDF also suffered losses, with 12 fighters killed in a battle in Khin-U Township. Many cities saw violent clashes during 2022's Union Day. Mandalay also saw fighting, with casualties on both sides.
===== Northern Myanmar ===== Throughout the 2021–2022 dry season, various groups in Northern Myanmar carried out ambushes against military outposts and convoys. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the PDF attacked convoys in Mohnyin and Hpakant townships. In October, they also partially shut down gold mining operations run by SAC allies. After an ambush near Shwegu, the Tatmadaw responded with airstrikes and ground attacks against KIA bases in Hpakant and Mohnyin Townships. In early February, the KIA assaulted several military bases in Kachin and Shan States, reportedly burning one in Hpakant Township down. The SAC responded by increasing airstrikes and sending reinforcements to the area. The Chinland Defense Force (CDF) and the Chin National Army (CNA) raided and ambushed outposts and convoys in Matupi and Mindat Townships. In December, the Tatmadaw recaptured the town of Thantlang from the CDF in an offensive that destroyed over a quarter of the town's buildings. On 14 January 2022, units of the CNA moved into Senam village, south of Tamu, in neighboring Sagaing Region to attack a base run by the Indian-based People's Liberation Army of Manipur. After several hours of fighting, between 10 and 20 Manipuri rebels and 1 CNA fighter were killed.
===== Yangon and other regions ===== During this time, there were several cases of guerilla warfare across Myanmar using homemade explosives, including several accidents killing resistance fighters. On 17 June 2021, an army vehicle exploded in Tamwe Township, Yangon, allegedly killing several military personnel. On 14 December, Tatmadaw troops captured 12 suspected resistance fighters after several bombs accidentally exploded in Hlaing Thar Yar Township, Yangon. Urban warfare became less practical, so resistance forces began targeting SAC-aligned officials. According to SAC-aligned sources, 367 SAC-appointed officials were assassinated in targeted attacks between February 2021 and February 2022. Resistance forces also began targeting the homes of SAC pilots in Yangon in response to airstrikes on civilians. Fighting also occurred in other Bamar-majority regions. On 31 January 2022, at least 36 SAC soldiers were reportedly killed in ambushes over three days in Magwe, Sagaing and Tanintharyi regions and Chin, Shan and Kayah states.
2022 monsoon decrease in intensity
The intensity of fighting decreased during the monsoon season. Resistance forces were advantaged by the rainfall as the SAC could not carry out air strikes as easily. In June, resistance groups achieved control of 40–50% of the country. Arakan Army claimed to administer most of Rakhine State with an independent government. Chin National Front and CDF made plans to establish a new government. The KIA and the Wa State, a neutral de facto independent region of Myanmar, consolidated expanded territories. However, the Myanmar Army retained tight control of almost every city in Myanmar and most of the country's natural resources, including important jade mines. During this time, the PDF were also unable to move beyond rural guerilla tactics. Duwa Lashi La, acting president of the NUG, cited the lack of weaponry and international support as reasons for the prolonged conflict. On 31 May 2022, a bombing killed one person and injured nine others near the Sule Pagoda in Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar. State media accused the People's Defence Force of being responsible for the attack, which the PDF denied. A July clash in Pekon Township, Shan State also killed around 40 SAC soldiers and 11 PDF fighters.
===== Massacres and executions ===== The military deployed its time-tested counterinsurgency methods in what has been called a "hammer approach" of bombing and burning villages and massacring civilians to flush out rebel groups. However, the approach was ineffective because they were unable to consolidate power or deter resistance. Myanmar military forces executed at least 37 villagers in the Mon Taing Pin massacre in May 2022 after shelling the village of Mondaingbin, Sagaing Region with heavy artillery. The SAC forces entered the local Buddhist monastery, conscripted young male villagers briefly before executing them and other captives by a stupa. Following a raid in Se Zin village, Kachin state, SAC soldiers set fire to more than 400 homes, detaining some 400 people in August 2022. Radio Free Asia reported 100 of the prisoners were killed either through an extrajudicial massacre) by security forces or due to horrific prison conditions. On 23 July 2022, the State Administration Council announced that it had executed four political prisoners, including Zayar Thaw and Kyaw Min Yu, which was the first use of capital punishment in Myanmar since the late 1980s. The men had been accused of helping the resistance movement. The event was widely seen as a provocation to escalate the ongoing conflict by the Tatmadaw. The international community, including United Nations Secretary-General, the G7 nations and the European Union strongly condemned the executions. On 16 September 2022, the Burmese military killed 11 children and wounded another 17 in the Let Yet Kone massacre, as part of an airborne strike conducted against a school Sagaing Region. The military claimed that the village was harbouring resistance fighters from the KIA and PDF. The attack was widely condemned by the international community, including the United Nations and European Union. Later in September 2022, retired Brigadier General Ohn Thwin, mentor to State Administration Council vice-chairman Senior General Soe Win, was assassinated by anti-SAC guerrilla groups in Yangon. This assassination caused an increase in security on high-ranking SAC personnel.
==== Breakdown of Arakan ceasefire, monsoon 2022 ==== In early 2022, the Arakan Army and the junta clashed again in northern Rakhine State. On 8 February, Arakan Army and junta forces clashed on at least two occasions in Maungdaw in Rakhine State. Fighting broke out on 4 February when junta troops carried out a sneak attack on an AA outpost near the Letpan Mountains northeast of Mee Taik Village, killing an AA sentry, according to AA spokesman Khaing Thukha. Three hours of clashes were also reported on 6 February. The clashes raised fears of a breakdown of the informal ceasefire between the AA and the military which had been in place since November 2020. Further clashes in northern Maungdaw on the night of 7 February killed two civilians. Several junta troops, including a major, were also killed in the attack.
Between June and August 2022, the informal ceasefire reached in late 2020 between the Arakan Army (AA) and the junta broke down. The AA had consolidated control during this period, avoided the initial violence of the war, and introduced many public services and local administrators in northern Rakhine state. With the military's attention diverted to increasing resistance elsewhere and increasing popular support for an alliance with the NUG, the AA sought to expand its influence into southern Rakhine. Rhetoric from AA leader Twan Mrat Naing in June grew more provocative with military spokespeople stating that the AA was inviting conflict. Armed clashes resumed in July after the junta launched an airstrike against an AA base in Kayin State, killing 6 AA soldiers. AA retaliated in Maungdaw Township and western Chin State in late July and early August. By late August, land travel to northern Rakhine required passing a series of checkpoints and all public transport ships had ceased operation due to river and land blockades. On 16 August 2022, two mortar shells fired by the Myanmar Army landed in a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh, killing one man and injuring five others. Myanmar Army helicopters allegedly entered Bangladeshi air space to attack the Arakan Army and fired a shell within Bangladeshi air space. Two days later, Bangladesh summoned Myanmar ambassador Aung Kyaw Moe to strongly protest the land and airspace violations. In October 2022, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen made a statement that border bombings by Myanmar had stopped after he met with the Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh, Li Jiming.
Escalation of the civil war (September 2022 – November 2022)
==== Increased resistance efforts ==== In mid-October 2022, NUG issued a statement calling for the victory of the Spring Revolution by the end of 2023. This call to action was followed by increased fighting by the resistance forces in urban areas and in Southeastern Myanmar. This development took place in the wake of the junta torching at least 20 villages in the Sagaing and Magway Regions as part of a "four cuts" strategy of attacking civilians to weaken anti-regime movements. According to Sagaing-based resistance spokespeople, many victims of arson then joined the resistance. The urgency of the resistance was likely prompted by the looming elections planned by the State Administration Council. The fragmented nature of the grassroots elements of the PDF became more organized in 2022 through the command of the NUG and from cooperation with various EAOs- especially the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). The Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) claimed in January 2023 that 1,692 regime troops and 211 resistance fighters were killed since the 2021 coup, 293 civilians had been killed by the regime, and 126 displaced civilians died while fleeing their homes in Kayah and Shan states in 2022.
===== Highland attacks ===== The Karen National Liberation Army stepped up fighting, besieging the major town of Kawkareik on the Thai border in 21 October 2022 Battle of Kawkareik. The battle began with surprise attacks on the Asia Highway and at government offices within the town. Resistance forces looked poised to take the town, but ultimately withdrew two days later after facing junta air strikes and strategically drawing junta troops away from nearby positions. Four days later, undeterred KNLA-led forces seized a junta Light Infantry Battalion base in Kyain Seikgyi Township. In Shan State, clashes between PDF forces near Inle Lake and the Pa-O National Organisation (PNO) broke out after the PNO coerced villages for speedboats and militia recruits.
In late 2022, Chin State resistance forces used drones in a week-long siege of an outpost in Falam Township, killing 74% of the junta forces stationed, but failing to take the outpost against aerial bombardments. In February 2023, CNA captured Thantlang police station and took control of the town. In Kachin State, the Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA) became more actively allied with the junta as conflict between SNA and the KIA grew. In August, the SNA and the Myanmar Army set fire to hundreds of homes in Kachin state forcing KIA to withdraw from the area. Chin forces also targeted convoys on roads within the state. In March 2023, combined Chin resistance consisting of CNA, CNDF, and CDFs conducted multiple ambushes on a regime convoy between Kalay, Falam and Hakha capturing and destroyed multiple armoured vehicles. The NUG awarded the combined Chin forces 400 million kyat for seizing two armoured vehicles. The following day, the groups attacked another junta convoy carrying 80 troops on the road between Matupi and Paletwa, killing over 30 junta soldiers. In April, CNDF attacked a junta base on the Kalay-Falam road near Varr, Falam Township, killing eleven regime soldiers and capturing fourteen.
===== Lowland attacks ===== In November 2022, resistance in Bago Region increased. In Monyo Township, western Bago Region, the PDF attacked a police building using cluster bombs. In eastern Bago, 15 junta soldiers were killed in a Bago PDF raid on a police station in Yedashe Township. Thousands of civilians also fled Shwegyin Township as joint KNLA and NUG-led resistance forces seized three military outposts.
In early December, a video of PDF forces beating and shooting a woman dead emerged on social media. The NUG Ministry of Defence said that the incident happened in June in Tamu, Sagaing and that they were investigating the incident after detaining the perpetrators involved. In early January 2023, PDF groups in Kani Township, Sagaing Region attacked junta supply ships, killing at least 25 soldiers. The junta increasingly used waterways for supplies, avoiding roadways in resistance-held areas. In April 2023, a combined PDF force from nearby townships seized the Tower Taing hill base Kani Township, killing 30 junta soldiers and seizing weapons. In early 2023, the Mandalay PDF announced their intentions to ramp up military operations. Alongside the TNLA, they engaged in a series of intense clashes with the junta forces in Nawnghkio Township near the Shan-Mandalay border, killing at least 75 junta soldiers and wounding 60 others. A combined force of at least 900 junta and pro-junta militia troops attacked resistance positions with the help of artillery attacks and airstrikes during the clashes but were forced to retreat.
===== Urban attacks ===== In 2023, attacks in urban areas increased. In March 2023, the urban guerilla group Urban Owls assassinated Minn Tayzar Nyunt Tin, a legal and money-laundering aide to the junta with links to former Air Force commander General Myat Hein, in Thanlyin, Yangon. Minn Tayzar Nyunt Tin helped draft the repressive Cyber Security Law, which was seen as violating digital rights, privacy, and freedom of expression.
Junta retaliation and atrocities
In October 2022, battles and skirmishes increased as the junta committed several civilian atrocities. On 21 October, junta forces decapitated Saw Tun Moe, a high school teacher from Thit Nyi Naung, and impaled his head on a NUG-administered school's spiked gate after burning and looting Taung Myint village in Magway Region.
On 23 October, over 80 people were killed by an airstrike in Hpakant Township, Northern Myanmar, during an anniversary celebration for the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO). At least 80 civilians were killed, making it the deadliest attack on civilians since the start of the renewed civil war. The junta denied civilian casualties while the United Nations condemned the attack. In November 2022, the junta continued burning villages in Sagaing Region, including the home village of Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, the head of the Catholic Church in Myanmar. Junta soldiers also hid in civilian trucks impersonating workers to ambush local defence forces in Shwebo Township. On 2 February 2023, Min Aung Hlaing imposed martial law in 37 townships with resistance activity, affecting millions of residents.
Scorched earth tactics
In November 2022, the dry season allowed the greater use of the Myanmar Air Force to weaken the resistance forces' ability to maintain strategic positions and outposts. Aerial bombardment, helicopter raids and artillery strikes typically followed skirmishes once junta ground forces sustained substantial losses and retreated. Once the entrapped forces were relieved by aerial support, they would engage in scorched earth tactics. World War Two veterans described the destruction as worse than that of the Burma campaign of World War II due to the deliberate targeting of civilian villages. The heavy use of air forces came alongside a decrease in the junta's ability to fight on the ground. During the week of 21 November, repeated junta air attacks along the Sagaing-Kachin border killed 80 and disrupted supply chains between the two resistance regions. The junta's scorched earth campaign stretched across northern Myanmar, burning bases and villages they could no longer defend. Thousands of residents fled during the campaign as hundreds of homes were destroyed. In early 2023, one scorched earth push by the junta aimed to resecure the Letpadaung Copper Mine in Salingyi Township for Chinese foreign workers planning to leave for their holidays. On 23 February 2023, army troops launched a new military offensive in Sagaing, raiding and pillaging villages at the confluence of the Irrawaddy and Mu Rivers. During the offensive, troops from the 99th Light Infantry Division executed at least 17 villagers during the Tar Taing massacre.
