Despite military difficulties, PDF fighters say resistance spirit has not faded

Young People's Defence Forces (PDF) fighters, clad in military uniforms, marched towards their training ground at a secret jungle camp in central Myanmar, laughing and talking, despite facing situations where they had to retreat militarily. In a cleared area within the forest, they saluted the red and white PDF flag. They are people who left urban areas after the 2021 military coup to take up arms against the military junta. Around 100 fighters are based at the secret camp, most of whom wear the "Don" insignia of the Mandalay PDF, one of the strongest and best-organized People's Defence Forces (PDF) in the country. The civil war has been ongoing for nearly five years, and the camp was built in the Sagaing Region, having resettled after retreating from Mandalay. The fighters also use the marching ground as a football field, with some playing football barefoot. In the soldiers' dormitories, fighters sleep side-by-side on long wooden benches, with each person having only one blanket, one backpack, and one weapon. Although the resistance forces initially achieved military successes, the Myanmar military later launched counteroffensives on multiple fronts. Furthermore, some ethnic armed organizations that had been assisting the PDFs have ceased fighting due to ceasefire agreements brokered by China. The Myanmar military brought the Conscription Law into effect in February 2024, replenishing its troop numbers and increasing its numerical superiority. A platoon leader of the Mandalay PDF, who only wished to be identified by his military name "Skate," aged 25, said he joined the PDF to evade conscription. "Many people are dissatisfied with the current situation. They say, 'The revolution is no longer successful, we can't get back up.' Sometimes even our fighters feel this way," he told AFP. According to data from the armed conflict monitoring group ACLED, over 100,000 people have died in connection with the conflict on both sides since the military coup. "We have lost many comrades who fought together, and civilians displaced by the conflict. However, these experiences are what motivate us more to overcome these difficulties," he said. After the military coup, PDFs collaborated with ethnic armed revolutionary organizations to obtain weapons, ammunition, and military training. Mon Mon Nwe Oo, 24, one of the few female fighters at the camp, said she participated in the operation that captured and controlled the city of Mogok. However, she said that their allied Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) withdrew according to a China-brokered agreement, forcing them to also retreat from the territory. "It is regrettable to lose territory after winning. I do not know the detailed military decisions. I only knew that we had to retreat," she said. Currently, some resistance fighters believe that the Myanmar military has a military advantage due to fighter jets and heavy artillery obtained from China and Russia, and is also gaining an advantage in drone technology. However, a PDF fighter named "Nay," aged 33, said they still have an advantage over the military junta. "We started this revolution with bare hands. Now we have weapons and forces. In terms of spirit, they cannot compare to us. This is because we are fighting with a spirit that does not accept injustice," he said.