Exclusive from Burma: Karenni State’s Uneasy Calm in the World’s Longest War

Back in Karenni State, Burma (Myanmar), the situation is eerily calm. While a large-scale battle is underway in neighboring Karen State, where I was a few weeks ago, Karenni has been quiet. Soldiers here believe the lull is the government’s attempt to add legitimacy to their sham elections, which began in December. This is despite the fact that all opposition and pro-democracy parties were barred from participating, and anyone living in resistance-controlled areas, which make up roughly 70 percent or more of the country, is not allowed to vote.

Normally in Karenni, explosions can be heard throughout the day. Drone and mortar attacks are constant, with occasional airstrikes mixed in. Since arriving three days ago, however, I have not heard a single explosion, and I have seen only two planes fly overhead.

Meanwhile, the resistance is focused on retaking Pasaung, one of the largest cities in the state. In August of last year, I filed several stories with The Gateway Pundit while I was with resistance forces as they launched a coordinated assault involving multiple ethnic armed groups united under a single objective to oust the junta. The resistance took heavy casualties from drones and airstrikes and was forced to disengage after running out of ammunition. Everyone knows another attempt is coming, but no one knows exactly when.

The war had already been going on for at least a decade when this man was born. Photo by Antonio GraceffoAt present, resistance forces control most of Karenni State, while the government holds the state capital, Loikaw. The next two largest cities, Demoso and Pasaung, are divided, with the government controlling one side of each city and the resistance controlling the other.

Traveling through resistance-controlled areas is always difficult. Many of the roads have been bombed and are no longer passable. Others are in the line of fire. As a result, it is often necessary to drive through the jungle and through rivers when there are no bridges. They have to use a winch to pull the trucks through. In some cases, they use pontoons made of empty oil drums and bamboo frames to float the trucks over the water. What used to be a five-hour drive a few months ago is now a twelve-hour ordeal, complicating resupply and evacuation of the wounded.

The Burma army can fly in supplies and use helicopters to evacuate their wounded. In resistance-controlled zones, solar panels and generators are the only sources of electricity, and Starlink is the only means of communication or internet access. The government can purchase arms, including airplanes and drones, from China, while the resistance relies on donations and must make for themselves whatever gear they cannot afford on the black market. Right now, one bullet for an Ak-47 costs $3, severely limiting the resistance’s ability to fight.

Unlike Europe, which asks the United States to fight its wars for them, the people of Burma have shown that they are willing to keep fighting with their bare hands if they have to. In conversations with soldiers and their leaders, they generally say that all they are asking for is drone jammers and, if possible, small arms and ammunition. If not, they would also be satisfied if the United States could intervene to stop China, Russia, and India from supplying the junta and effectively halt shipments of jet fuel and ammunition.

A few weeks ago, when I was in Karen State, resistance forces were attacking a government-held position inside a reinforced bunker. Not only did they have to fight uphill to reach the enemy, but the final 500 meters had no tree cover, making them clear targets for government mortars and machine guns. The resistance pressed forward anyway.

One of the clever techniques they used was making their own Bangalore torpedo, an explosive charge placed inside several connected tubes. Each soldier carried a section, which was assembled on the battlefield and pushed across open ground until it reached the enemy position. But pushing only goes so far. At a certain point, men may have to run to the front of the torpedo and drag it forward to clear an obstacle, exposing themselves in the kill zone.

They did it anyway. And they keep fighting despite being outgunned, without aircraft, and with almost no equipment. They fight for freedom, justice, and a federal republic, as their fathers did, and their grandfathers did, and in some cases their great-grandfathers, in a war that has been ongoing since 1948.

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