Arakan Army fighters seize 14 of 17 townships in Rakhine, pledge to liberate entire frontier state in western Myanmar.


Lorcan Lovett is a journalist based in Southeast Asia. He covers Myanmar for international news outlets and for his Substack, On Myanmar.
Arakan Army fighters seize 14 of 17 townships in Rakhine, pledge to liberate entire frontier state in western Myanmar.

Aftershocks of Myanmar’s devastating earthquake add new dimension to country’s four-year-long civil war.
![A soldier from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) patrols in a vehicle beside an area destroyed by an air strike in Myawaddy, a town under KNLA control, on April 15, 2024 [Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/2024-04-15T104942Z_1576751518_RC2T67AL3YML_RTRMADP_3_THAILAND-MYANMAR-BORDER-1-1745044797.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Under heavy Myanmar air force attacks, Chin rebels pay heavy price for success of ‘Mission Jerusalem’.
![Resistance reinforcements sit on the back of a pickup truck as they leave to the frontline in Falam township, Chin State, Myanmar, in January 2025 [Valeria Mongelli/Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/0H1A3922-1742020373.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) seeks to deal a decisive blow to the country’s military rulers in 2025.
![Myanmar's National Unity Government (NUG) Acting President Duwa Lashi La [Courtesy of Duwa Lashi La]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/PYM-1735954559.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Defectors from Myanmar’s military and police are learning skills that could put them on a new path after years of war.
![A repair instructor, former Myanmar navy personnel, center left, and regime defectors stand among bicycles during an e-bike and bicycle repair workshop near the Thailand-Myanmar border on November 1, 2024. [Valeria Mongelli/Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Myanmar-skills-5-1732266491.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Muslims join fight under multiethnic leadership as groups once marginalized are embraced by Myanmar’s revolution.
![Thandar, a 28-year-old combat medic, has served in 3rd Company since October 2021 [Lorcan Lovett/Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2-1729236507.jpg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Travelling independently to Southeast Asia, they say they were inspired by the bravery of the anti-coup fighters.

Life and death on the front lines of fighting in Myanmar’s Kayah state.

Coup opponents say they are trying to recruit more informants as threats to those who leave intensify.
