Myanmar's Jungle Warriors

these are burmese resistance fighters they're on the run from the myanmar military and tonight they're smuggling themselves across the border into thailand [Music] side a group of burmese dissidents are waiting for them so it's about 5am we're going to meet some smuggled myanmar fighters these are militia members that a year ago were protesters fighting against a government with slingshots and makeshift shields now they're jungle warriors in the past few weeks airstrikes have been pummeling them just across the border in myanmar now they come here seeking safety refugees [Music] me [Music] okay [Music] [Music] one year after the coup that upended the nation and killed more than 1500 people according to human rights groups these young rebels are just a few of the thousands fighting against the powerful myanmar military on february 1st 2021 soldiers seized the parliament and ousted the majority of the government massive demonstrations spread across the country [Applause] but the military's crackdown was swift and lethal now after a year of growing violence the military has intensified aerial strikes on the provinces and the country is slipping into chaos there are data showing that november was the highest month with nearly one thousand attack denzar shunley a human rights activist from yangon was a formative voice in the early street protests there are more than 30 townships that have suffered from the airstrikes across the whole nation [Music] we have never experienced such kind of brutalities from the military as well as a strong resistance from the people they try to make sure the whole country submit to them but we still refuse to allow them to be our rulers this defiance has led to the formation of the people's defense forces or pdf a coalition of thousands of resistance fighters who are carrying out surprise attacks on hunter checkpoints bombing army convoys and supporting ethnic armies in their fight against the regime 12 months ago these men and women were students and office workers protesting the coup today they're training to overthrow the military being a soldier is a tough choice but the young people they are ready to defend the community they have to of course sacrifice their own daily life ordinary life but with no outside support these fighters are outmanned and outgunned right across the border thailand is their sanctuary we've agreed to hide their identities out of fear of retribution [Music] with only a handful of rifles in their unit these 12 pdf fighters were forced to retreat to thailand fleeing the recent barrage of military attacks in the safe house we sat down with jack a fighter in his early twenties whose name we've changed to protect his identity a year ago he was a regular kid working in a cell phone shop i know foreign today is [Music] foreign one morning last june jack told his family he was going to work instead he headed north out of the city and joined the pdf [Music] new soldiers like jack are offered support and training from the korean national liberation army one of the country's armed ethnic fighting forces who have been at war with myanmar military for over 70 years what was it like to become a soldier living in the jungle [Music] foreign [Music] in his mid-30s ko ong is the eldest member and leader of jack's unit a year ago he was a fruit salesman and musician he has no military experience unlike the army he's up against [Music] my with military informants spread all around the cities going home for these soldiers would mean risking their and their families lives for now they're trapped in the fight before the coup jack hadn't been away from his family for more than a few days he hasn't seen them now for nine months [Music] the only place jack and his friends can go now is another safe house soon they'll head back to myanmar to the front line of their war against the military foreign so right now we're standing at the western end of thailand just at the border with myanmar just past this river here what we're seeing is hundreds of people gathered at this makeshift displaced persons camp gathered with whatever they could grab from home and they're making shelters from just like tarps that they found and sticks around the area and the food has been donated from people here in thailand ferried across the river they've come here fleeing their homes because of the bombings and artillery that's been happening all around this area this is just one camp there's dozens across this entire giant border [Music] when the airstrikes worsened in december thousands of refugees crossed into thailand setting up makeshift camps on the safer side of the river foreign you

Channel: VICE News

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Id: 8hJ9nOagAhk

Length: 12min 36sec (756 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 07 2022