Myanmar has been at war since independence from Britain in 1948. For most of that time, the country was ruled by the military, but a quasi-civilian government took power in 2011, ushering in sweeping political and economic reforms.
For ethnic minorities, however, little has changed. The military is battling an array of ethnic armed groups on Myanmar’s frontiers, where lucrative trades in drugs and natural resources fuel fighting. Can elections and a newly minted ceasefire lay the foundation for peace?
The latest installment in IRIN’s Forgotten Conflicts series looks at the ethnic wars that have bedeviled Myanmar for more than 60 years. In the mountains of Shan State an ethnic army battles drug dealing militias led by ruling party officials, while the scramble for control over the country’s rich natural resources fuels war between an array of ethnic armed groups, the military and pro-government militias.
SEE: Forgotten Conflicts, Myanmar
