List of insurgent groups in Myanmar

Fighters of different insurgent groups.

This is an incomplete list of insurgent groups in Myanmar (also known as Burma).[1]

Active insurgent groups

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Name Founded Strength Headquarters Location Affiliation Notes
All Burma Students' Democratic Front 1988 600[2]–1,000[3] Mobile headquarters Myanmar-Thailand border;
Myanmar-China border		 Part of the democracy movement in Myanmar
Arakan Army (Kachin State) 2009 1,500–2,500[4] Laiza Kachin State
Kayin State
Rakhine State		 Close allies with the Kachin Independence Army.
Arakan Army (Kayin State) 2010 350+[5] Mobile headquarters Kayin State Armed wing of the Arakan National Council
Arakan Liberation Army 1968 60–100[6] Sittwe Kayin State
Rakhine State		 Close allies with the Karen National Union.
Chin National Army 1988 200+[7][3] Hakha Chin State Armed wing of the Chin National Front Part of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC).[8]
Democratic Karen Benevolent Army 2010 1,500[9] Sonesee Myaing Myawaddy Township, Kayin State Signed a ceasefire agreement with the government in 2011. Split from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army.
Kachin Independence Army 1961 8,000[10] Laiza Kachin State Armed wing of the Kachin Independence Organisation Holds and governs territory in Kachin State. Part of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC).[8][11]
Karen National Liberation Army 1949 5,000[12][3]–7,000[13] Mobile headquarters Kayah State
Kayin State		 Armed wing of the Karen National Union Part of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC).[8]
Karenni Army 1949 500[3]–1,500[13] Mobile headquarters Kayah State Armed wing of the Karenni National Progressive Party Part of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC).[8]
Mon National Liberation Army 1958 800+ (2,000 reserves)[14] Ye Chaung Phya Mon State Armed wing of the New Mon State Party
Monland Restoration Army 2001 100–300[15][16] Sangkhlaburi Mon State
Myanmar-Thailand border		 Armed wing of the Monland (Hongsawatoi) Restoration Party
Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army 1989 2,000[17]–4,000[18] Mobile headquarters Shan State Armed wing of the Kokang Democracy Party Split from the Communist Party of Burma after its dissolution.
National Democratic Alliance Army 1989 4,000[1] Mong La Shan State Split from the Communist Party of Burma after its dissolution.
Rohingya National Army

1998 400 Buthidaung Rakhine State
Myanmar-Bangladesh border		 Affiliated with al-Qaeda and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan[19] Formed from an alliance between the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO), the Arakan Rohingya National Organization (ARNO), and the Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front (ARIF).
Shan State Army - North 1971 8,000[1] Wan Hai Shan State Armed wing of the Shan State Progress Party Part of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC).[8]
Shan State Army - South 1996 6,000[13]–8,000[1] Mae Hong Son Shan State;
Myanmar-Thailand border		 Armed wing of the Restoration Council of Shan State Split from the Mong Tai Army in 1995. Part of the Shan State Congress.
Ta’ang National Liberation Army 1992 1,500[20] Namhsan Pa Laung Self-Administered Zone Currently governs the Pa Laung Self-Administered Zone. Part of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC).[8]
United Wa State Army 1988 20,000[21]–25,000[22] Pangkham Wa Self-Administered Division
(Wa State)		 Armed wing of the United Wa State Party Currently governs Wa State as a de facto military junta.[23]
Zomi Revolutionary Army 1993 3,000[1] Mobile headquarters Myanmar-India border Armed wing of the Zomi Revolutionary Party Only minor activities in Myanmar.

Former insurgent groups

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Name Founded Disbanded Strength Location Affiliation Notes
Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front 1986 2001 Unknown Rakhine State
Arakan Rohingya National Organization 1986 2001 200 Rakhine State
Communist Party of Burma 1939 1988 6,000[24] Shan State Armed wing dissolved in 1988.
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army 1994 2010 <5,000[1] Kayin State Signed a ceasefire agreement shortly after its formation in 1994. Split from the Karen National Union.
God's Army 1997 2006 500 (peak)[25] Myanmar-Thailand border Surrendered to government forces in 2006.
Kachin Defense Army 1961 2010 1,500[26] Shan State Originated as the Kachin Independence Army's 4th brigade.
Kuomintang 1949 1953 14,000[27] Shan State;
Myanmar-China border		 Armed forces of the Republic of China (Taiwan) The CIA aided Kuomintang soldiers fleeing from communist forces in Myanmar through Operation Paper, supplying them with non-lethal aid via Thailand until 1953, when they airlifted 7,000 soldiers back to Taiwan and stopped the operation. Around 7,000 soldiers remained behind until disarming and leaving Myanmar in 1961.[28]
Mong Tai Army 1985 1996 20,000 Shan State;
Myanmar-Thailand border		 Surrendered to government forces in 1996.
Mujahideen 1950s 1970 2,000 Rakhine State Majority of fighters surrendered to government forces in the late 1960s.
National Socialist Council of Nagaland 1980 2012 <500[29] Sagaing Region NSCN faction in Myanmar (NSCN-K) largely defunct after the creation of the Naga Self-Administered Zone in 2010. Signed a ceasefire agreement with the government and disbanded in 2012.
New Democratic Army - Kachin 1989 2009 700 (peak)[30] Shan State Signed a ceasefire agreement with the government in 1989. Agreed to become a "border guard force" in 2009.
Pa-O National Army 1949 1991 400–700[1][31] Shan State Armed wing of the Pa-O National Organisation Signed a ceasefire agreement with the government in 1991. Currently governs the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone.
Red Flag Communist Party 1948 1978 500[32] Shan State Split from the Communist Party of Burma (White flags).
Rohingya Liberation Party 1972 1974 200–500[33] Rakhine State Insurgents fled across the border into Bangladesh after a massive military operation by the government in July 1974.
Rohingya Patriotic Front 1974 1980s 70[33] Rakhine State
Shan State Army 1964 1976 1,500 Shan State Later formed the Shan State Army - North and Shan State Army - South. Also fought other rebel factions such as the Communist Party of Burma.
Shan State National Army 1995 2005 8,000 (peak)[34] Shan State Merged with the Shan State Army - South in 2005.
Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors 1999 2013 Unknown Myanmar-Thailand border Since 2013, no insurgent or terror related activity has been attributed to the VBSW, suggesting that it may be inactive or have been disbanded following political reforms in Myanmar.[35] Gained notoriety in October 1999 by raiding and holding hostages at the Burmese consulate in Bangkok, Thailand.
Wa National Army 1969 1997 200[3] Shan State Signed a peace agreement with the government in August 1997.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Armed ethnic groups". Myanmar Peace Monitor.
  2. ↑ "ABSDF". Myanmar Peace Monitor.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Robert I. Rotberg. "Burma: Prospects for a Democratic Future".
  4. ↑ "‘I Want to Stress That We Are Not the Enemy’". Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "Arakan Army (Karen Region)". Myanmar Peace Monitor.
  6. ↑ "ALP". Myanmar Peace Monitor.
  7. ↑ O2. "CNF".
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 O2. "Peace Process Overview".
  9. ↑ Bangok Post, PEACE MAY PROVE ELUSIVE AS DIVISIONS SAP STRENGTH OF KAREN NATIONAL UNION by, Saw Yan Naing, 14 October 2012, http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investigation/316916/peace-may-prove-elusive-as-divisions-sap-strength-of-karen-national-union
  10. ↑ AP, 4 May 2012, Myanmar state media report battles between government troops, Kachin rebels killed 31
  11. ↑ "Burma attack breaks Kachin truce near China border". BBC. 20 January 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2014. The rebels are seeking greater autonomy within Burma for ethnic Kachins who have had de facto control over a part of northern Burma for more than 50 years.
  12. ↑ "Asia Times - News and analysis from throughout Southeast Asia".
  13. 1 2 3 Burma center for Ethnic Studies, Jan. 2012, "Briefing Paper No. 1" http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs13/BCES-BP-01-ceasefires(en).pdf
  14. ↑ "NMSP". Myanmar Peace Monitor.
  15. ↑ "Ceasefire celebration noticeably absent". Independent Mon News Agency. Independent Mon news Agency. 29 June 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  16. ↑ The Irrawaddi - Precarious Peace in Monland
  17. ↑ "MNDAA". Myanmar Peace Monitor.
  18. ↑ "47 Govt Troops Killed, Tens of Thousands Flee Heavy Fighting in Shan State". irrawaddy.org.
  19. ↑ "Bangladesh: Breeding ground for Muslim terror". by Bertil Lintner. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  20. ↑ "TNLA". Myanmar Peace Monitor.
  21. ↑ Johnson, Tim (29 August 2009). China Urges Burma to Bridle Ethnic Militia Uprising at Border. The Washington Post.
  22. ↑ Davis, Anthony. "Wa army fielding new Chinese artillery, ATGMs". IHS Jane's Defence Weekly. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  23. ↑ Luke Gerdes (8 February 2009). "Constructing Terror: How Issues of Construct Validity Undermine the Utility of Terror Databases and Statistical Analyses of Terrorism". All Academic Research. Retrieved 18 August 2014. The best such example comes from the United Wa State Army (UWSA), an armed ethnic organisation that has established de facto control over a portion of Northeastern Burma.
  24. ↑ Richard Michael Gibson (2011). The Secret Army: Chiang Kai-shek and the Drug Warlords of the Golden Triangle. John Wiley and Sons. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-470-83018-5.
  25. ↑ Mydans, Seth (1 April 2000). "Burmese Rebel Chief More Boy Than Warrior". NY Times. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  26. ↑ "Burmanet » Kachin News Group: KDA transformed to militia groups by Burma junta". www.burmanet.org. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  27. ↑ Thant Myint-U (2006). The River of Lost Footsteps--Histories of Burma. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp. 274–289. ISBN 978-0-374-16342-6.
  28. ↑ Richard Michael Gibson (2011). The Secret Army: Chiang Kai-shek and the Drug Warlords of the Golden Triangle. John Wiley and Sons. pp. 85–90. ISBN 978-0-470-83018-5.
  29. ↑ O2. "NSCN-K".
  30. ↑ "New Democratic Army - Kachin". Mizzima News.
  31. ↑ "PNLO". Myanmar Peace Monitor.
  32. ↑ Schmid, Alex Peter, A.J. Jongman, and Michael Stohl. Political Terrorism: A New Guide to Actors, Authors, Concepts, Data Bases, Theories, and Literature. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 2005. p. 514
  33. 1 2 Pho Kan Kaung (May 1992). The Danger of Rohingya. Myet Khin Thit Magazine No. 25. pp. 87–103.
  34. ↑ Chronology for Shans in Burma
  35. ↑ "Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors". Tracking Terrorism.
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