Photos by Ta Mwe. Text by Sacca.

On 1st February 2021 Myanmar’s military carried out a coup which deposed the democratically elected government and shattered a decade of political and social development overnight. Many of the country’s elected officials were detained and Myanmar returned to military rule – something that the vast majority of the population had hoped they would never see again.

Protests against the coup quickly began to grow, from small acts of defiance to a nationwide uprising which protestors began referring to as the “Spring Revolution.” In order to suppress the growing protest movement the military soon turned to the use of deadly force and mass detention. In the first months of resistance, hundreds of peaceful protestors were murdered, thousands were imprisoned and virtually every town and city in the country was subjected to a brutal campaign of terror by state security forces.

As the majority of urban protests were quashed by the military crackdown, many young Burmese retreated into the jungles and mountains of Myanmar’s rugged periphery to join the People’s Defence Force (PDF), the military wing of the National Unity Government (NUG), a body of democratically-elected legislators and officials that is widely accepted by the civilian populace to be the legitimate government of Myanmar. Large swathes of Myanmar’s border regions have been embroiled in civil war for decades and local ethnic populations have long suffered under military repression. The resultant patchwork of self-administered regions protected by mountains, jungles and well established ethnic armed groups has become a training ground for a new generation of Burmese freedom Fighters.

Riot police are seen with flowers given to them by protestors during an anti-coup rally in Yangon, Myanmar, on 6th February 2021. Protests against the coup staged by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) have been ongoing throughout Myanmar since the military overthrew the elected government and arrested its leaders on 1st February 2021.

Ei Thinzar Maung, political activist, is seen protesting against the coup alongside members of the labour union in Yangon, Myanmar, on 6th February 2021. Protests against the coup staged by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) have been ongoing throughout Myanmar since the military overthrew the elected government and arrested its leaders on 1st February 2021.

Thousands of people gather to protest against the military coup in downtown Yangon, Myanmar, on 7th February 2021. The nationwide anti-coup protest movement has become the country’s biggest rally since 1988’s anti-coup uprising. Protests against the coup staged by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) have been ongoing throughout Myanmar since the military overthrew the elected government and arrested its leaders on 1st February 2021.

Protestors cover themself with tarpaulin sheets as police prepare anti-riot water cannon trucks during an anti-coup protest at Hledan Junction in Yangon, Myanmar, on 9th February 2021. Protests against the coup staged by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) have been ongoing throughout Myanmar since the military overthrew the elected government and arrested its leaders on 1st February 2021.

Protesters pose with a three-finger salute during an anti-coup rally in Yangon, Myanmar, on 28th February 2021. The gesture has become a symbol of resistance in the region and has been used widely by people protesting against Myanmar’s military. Protests against the coup staged by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) have been ongoing throughout Myanmar since the military overthrew the elected government and arrested its leaders on 1st February 2021.

Frontline protestors secure their location as the military advances during an anti-coup rally in Yangon, Myanmar, on 6th March 2021. Protests against the coup staged by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) have been ongoing throughout Myanmar since the military overthrew the elected government and arrested its leaders on 1st February 2021.

Pro-democracy activists chant and pose with a three-finger salute during an anti-coup protest in Yangon, Myanmar, on 31st March 2021. Protests against the coup staged by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) have been ongoing throughout Myanmar since the military overthrew the elected government and arrested its leaders on 1st February 2021.

A soldier of the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) examines a government office entrance where a soldier from his troop stepped on a landmine planted by the Myanmar military. Loikaw Township, Kayah (Karenni) State, on 6th December 2023.

A Soldier of the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) examines an unexploded mortar shell after it was removed from the ground at Loikaw stadium in Kayah (Karenni) State on 6th December 2023. Freedom fighters often collect unexploded ordnance from the frontline to extract gunpowder for reuse in making homemade improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and drone bombs to attack the Myanmar military.

A member of a weapons factory produces a rifle barrel at an undisclosed location in Kayah state, Myanmar, on 23rd March 2022. More than 20 people are producing rifles and IEDs at this weapons factory, to counter the Myanmar military’s offensive attacks and supply chain network.

Resistance fighters of the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) rest in the forest as they travel to the frontline for a military operation in Kayah State, Myanmar, on 21st March 2022. The KNDF was formed on 31 May 2021 in Kayah State as a merger of various PDF (People’s Defence Force) groups carrying out armed resistance to the military coup of February 2021. KNDF have 21 battalions and over 8,000 fighters primarily operating military defence missions in Kayah State.

Villagers carrying homemade hunting rifles walk around a village as they return from tactical training in Hpruso Township, Myanmar, on 22nd March 2022. Many people around Myanmar have joined People’s Defence Force (PDF) groups. The PDF is the military wing of the National Unity Government (NUG), a body of democratically-elected legislators and officials that is widely accepted by the civilian populace to be the legitimate government of Myanmar. The PDF was formed in response to the violence happening throughout the country at the hands of the Myanmar military, and the NUG has stated that it is the “forerunner of the federal armed forces.”

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are seen at a weapons factory in an undisclosed location in Kayah state, Myanmar, on 23rd March 2022. More than 20 people are producing rifles and IEDs at this weapons factory, to counter the Myanmar military’s offensive attacks and supply chain network.

Toilets made ouf of tarpaulin sheets are seen at an Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camp in Kayah State, Myanmar, on 24th March 2022.

Children play next to a natural cave where they seek shelter from the Myanmar military’s airstrikes, seen at an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Kayah State, Myanmar, on 24th March 2022.⁣

Resistance fighters of the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF), Battalion 8, rest at a village in Kayah State, Myanmar, on 25th March 2022. The KNDF was formed on 31st May 2021 in Kayah State as a merger of various PDF (People’s Defence Force) groups carrying out armed resistance to the military coup of February 2021. KNDF have 21 battalions and over 8,000 fighters primarily operating military defence missions in Kayah State.

Resistance fighters of the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF), Battalion 8, perform weapons maintenance at a frontline base camp in Demoso Township, Kayah State, Myanmar, on 25th March 2022. The KNDF was formed on 31st May 2021 in Kayah State as a merger of various PDF (People’s Defence Force) groups carrying out armed resistance to the military coup of February 2021. KNDF have 21 battalions and over 8,000 fighters primarily operating military defence missions in Kayah State.

A member of the Demoso Township People’s Defence Force (PDF) test fires a new automatic rifle at a base camp in Demoso Township, Kayah State, Myanmar, on 26th March 2022. The PDF is the military wing of the National Unity Government (NUG), a body of democratically-elected legislators and officials that is widely accepted by the civilian populace to be the legitimate government of Myanmar. The PDF was formed in response to the violence happening throughout the country at the hands of the Myanmar military, and the NUG has stated that it is the “forerunner of the federal armed forces.”

The grave of freedom fighter, Saw Calos Say (19), is seen at a cemetery in a remote village in Demoso Township, Kayah State, Myanmar, on 26th March 2022.

The body of Ritar Rimoe (59) is seen at her house at a village in Demoso township, Kayah State, Myanmar, on 28th March 2022. Artillery shells fired by the Myanmar military exploded next to Ritar the previous evening as she was preparing to go out on a motorbike with her brother. Ritar died a few hours later, and her brother was also seriously injured.⁣

Villagers cook meals for the funeral of Ritar Rimoe (59) at her house at a village in Demoso Township, Kayah State, Myanmar, on 28th March 2022. Artillery shells fired by the Myanmar military exploded next to Ritar the previous evening as she was preparing to go out on a motorbike with her brother. Ritar died a few hours later, and her brother was also seriously injured.

Family members pray for Ritar (59) during a burial service at a cemetery in Demoso Township, Kayah State, Myanmar on 29th March 2022. Artillery shells fired by the Myanmar military exploded next to Ritar the previous evening as she was preparing to go out on a motorbike with her brother. Ritar died a few hours later, and her brother was also seriously injured.⁣

An unexploded bomb, dropped by a Myanmar military warplane, is seen at a remote camp of the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) in Kayah State on December 31st 2022. According to UNICEF, 390 people fell victim to landmines and unexploded ordnance in Myanmar in 2022, with 34% of the victims being children.

Villagers are seen crossing a flooded creek with a vehicle being dragged by an elephant in the jungle on July 18th 2023, in Kayah (Karenni) State. Due to Myanmar’s military practices of cutting off food, medicine, and fuel to conflict areas, villagers are forced to use jungle routes to transport goods. The elephant pictured in this photograph died on July 30th, lost along with a vehicle and three villagers as a flash flood occurred while they were crossing the creek.

A woman from an IDP camp walks back to her shelter after collecting food donation rations on July 22nd 2023 in Kayah (Karenni) State, Myanmar.

Daw Hla Win, a 34-year-old mother of three, stepped on a landmine on June 15th 2023 as she returned to her village in Pekhon Township, from an IDP camp, to collect blankets. According to recent monitoring of landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) incidents during the first three months of 2023, a total of 302 casualties have been reported nationwide in Myanmar.

Doctors and medical volunteers perform an operation on Pe Tal’s amputated foot in a secret jungle hospital in Kayah (Karenni) State on August 1st 2023. Pe Tal, a 32-year-old soldier from the Moebye People’s Defense Force (PDF), stepped on a landmine during a battle and lost his foot. Since Myanmar’s military targets clinics and hospitals providing medical services to IDPs and resistance forces with airstrikes, they have to provide healthcare services in secret locations in areas controlled by the coalition resistance forces.

Soldiers of the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF), Battalion 08, are seen on a truck as they prepare to go to the frontline to provide reinforcement in Demoso Township, Kayah (Karenni) State, Myanmar, on August 7th 2023. Myanmar’s military has been engaged in combat with coalition resistance forces in the Demoso and Hpruso townships for the past two months, aiming to gain control of a major highway for ammunition supply in those areas.

Paul Du, 19, from the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF), rests under a tree as a Myanmar military fighter jet flies over their position on the front line in Demoso Township, Myanmar on August 7th 2023. Paul Du was injured by a Myanmar military artillery shell on August 10th, three days later, at the front line.

Soldiers of the Naypyitaw People’s Defence Force (PDF) grieve during a funeral procession for their comrade Zayya Kyaw in the coalition resistance forces-controlled area of Kayah (Karenni) State, Myanmar, on August 11th 2023. Zayya Kyaw, 25, died during a battle in Yado village on August 9th 2023.

This work is supported by grants from the VII Foundation and The Frontline Club.

Ta Mwe is a Burmese photojournalist and documentary photographer with experience covering a wide range of political and social stories and events throughout Myanmar. After many years working for national and international publications and organisations as a photographer, videographer and video editor, Ta Mwe’s recent work has focused on analogue stills photography, covering first the COVID-19 crisis and then the country’s anti-coup protests and subsequent civil war on medium-format black and white film stock. Due to the political situation in Myanmar the name Ta Mwe is an alias and this bio has been heavily redacted to remove any identifying information.

Sacca Photo represents a collective of photographers documenting the reality of life under Myanmar’s military dictatorship. All enquiries into licensing images for publication or exhibition should be emailed to saccaphoto@protonmail.com.

www.saccaphoto.com