Meet the young rebels fighting against Myanmar’s junta

Had the military not overthrown Myanmar’s democratically elected government three years ago, Magtalin – who like many in Myanmar has only one name – would likely be an electrical engineer by now. 

Instead, she is fighting in the Chin National Army, an ethnic rebel group based in the western Chin state. The CNA entered a cease-fire with the military in 2012 but resumed fighting, along with other armed ethnic groups across Myanmar, after the coup. Since then, it’s welcomed thousands of new recruits like Magtalin, whose rifle skills and aptitude for planning missions have made her a role model. 

While an influx of inexperienced fighters could create tension, the blended ranks have fought harmoniously, at least in this corner of Myanmar. Many CNA fighters are united in the belief that the solutions to all of Myanmar’s struggles – from political instability to lingering ethnic tensions – begin with getting the junta out.  

“I have been fighting the military for quite a long time, and yet there is so much to learn about the field from these young fighters who came from colleges and universities,” says Baiklian, who has served in the CNA for 25 years and recently joined the group’s new dedicated drone department.

Joseph was studying law in Myanmar’s northwestern city of Sagaing when the military’s 2021 coup plunged the country into war.

The teenage law student – who like many in Myanmar has only one name – fled on foot to India with his parents, hoping to resume his mother’s cancer treatment across the border. But after spending weeks in a refugee camp in India’s Mizoram state, watching from afar as authorities violently quashed civilian protests and jailed elected leaders, he decided to return.

“I could not tolerate what they had done to my country and our future,” says Joseph, who is now an elite sniper with the Chin National Army, an ethnic rebel group based in the western Chin state. The CNA entered a cease-fire with the military in 2012 but resumed fighting, along with other armed ethnic groups across Myanmar, after the coup.

Three years into the war, experts say Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, is facing challenges like never before. Thanks to increased cooperation among historically fractured resistance groups, anti-junta organizations claim to now control more than half of the country. And within these groups, veteran fighters are embracing new recruits, who they say bring fresh ideas, passion, and technological savvy to battlefields and base camps across Myanmar. 

“I have been fighting the military for quite a long time, and yet there is so much to learn about the field from these young fighters who came from colleges and universities,” says 50-year-old Baiklian, who has been part of CNA for the last 25 years and recently joined the group’s new dedicated drone department.

Learning to live with loss

When he joined CNA, Joseph went through months of rigorous military training at Camp Victoria, the group’s headquarters. He was a fast learner, getting promoted to the top sniper unit early on, and recently played a key role in capturing a police station in the Rezua area of Chin state. 

“You need a lot of mental strength to be a sniper,” says Joseph, who is now 21 years old. “But I know this is for … the democracy and liberation of my people.” 

In addition to marksmanship, he’s learned that being a rebel fighter demands sacrifice. Joseph has not seen his family since joining the CNA. In June, while he was on the front line, his older sister joined a group fleeing Myanmar by boat, hoping to build a new life in Europe. He found out weeks after she had already left, and no one has heard from her since. He doesn’t know if she made it off the boat. 

“This is what the coup does to ordinary people’s lives,” he says. But what saddens him the most is the death of his comrades.