Myanmar Spring Chronicle – Viewpoint for October 3

(MoeMaKa) October 4, 2025

Inter-ethnic frictions during the Spring Revolution

In recent weeks, the battle to seize Banmauk in Sagaing District pitted, on one side, the KIA and its allies — PDF units under the NUG — and, on the other, the SNA (Shan Ni armed group) together with what can be regarded as its ally, the military junta. Because Shan-Ni, Kadu, and Ganan peoples live in the area, the fighting has begun to be interpreted in ethnic terms, as if actions were carried out on an ethnic basis. Against this backdrop, a civic organization, the Shan-Ni Nationalities’ Unity Association (SNUA), issued a statement dated October 2 titled: “Position statement regarding the armed conflicts occurring in Shan-Ni areas of Banmauk Township.”

What the SNUA says, in brief

• Shan-Ni, Kadu, Ganan and Bamar peoples have lived together in this region for many years.

• Since the 2021 coup, war has raged in Shan-Ni areas: villages have been destroyed; civilians and even monks have been arrested and killed; there have been language restrictions; and excessive logging and unregulated gold mining have damaged the environment.

• Roads have been blocked for “military reasons,” and the internet and phone services have been cut for long periods, harming communication, livelihoods, and human rights. People struggle to live between taxes and orders imposed by armed groups.

• Civilians have been killed and injured by actions from both warring sides.

• During the Banmauk offensive, there have been attempts to stoke ethnic conflict and even attacks on civilian targets; online ethnic incitement is also appearing. Assistance is needed for over 1,500 IDPs, and civic education is needed to promote social harmony.

• Finally, the statement urges both armed parties to comply with rules of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) — specifically rules (7), (11), (12), (14), (30), (31), (35), (38), (43), (53), (55), (77), (78), (81), (88), (96), (97) — to refrain from war crimes and to prevent the outbreak of ethnic conflict.

The broader picture

Since the Spring Revolution began, observers have tended to sort existing ethnic armed organizations into three rough groups:

1. those fighting the junta — e.g., KNU/KNLA, KIA, CNF, AA, KNPP, KNDF, PNO/PNLA, TNLA, MNDAA;

2. those neither supporting nor fighting — e.g., UWSA, SSPP/SSA, RCSS, NMSP, Mong La;

3. those aligned with the army or formed as BGF units — e.g., PNO/PNA, the BGF in Karen State, and the former NDAK in Kachin.

There are also groups like the SNA (Shan-Ni) that are not BGFs but have reached understandings with the army, aiming to protect areas inhabited by their own communities; at times the SSPP/SSA has made similar choices. Questions such as whether the ethnic cause or the Spring Revolution should take precedence; historic rivalries and conflicting interests among ethnic groups; past armed clashes; feelings of discrimination; and deficits of trust all influence how sides are chosen and re-chosen.

Because some EAOs are organized primarily around ethnic agendas rather than democratic ideals, there have been instances where one group restricts or pressures other co-resident ethnic communities — making alliances more complicated than a simple pro-democracy vs. pro-junta divide.

If the term “Spring Revolution” is used to refer to the whole post-coup movement, its armed dimension has also brought side-effects: forced recruitment, human-rights abuses, and governance problems in newly seized areas where rulers and residents are of different ethnicities — all of which cast mixed light and shadow on the revolution’s image.

The current mistrust and tensions among Shan-Ni, Kadu, and Ganan around Banmauk are, in national terms, a small issue that has come to the surface now. Similar problems exist elsewhere: between Ta’ang (Palaung) groups and Shan communities, between Kachin and Ta’ang armed groups, and between Chin communities in Paletwa and the AA.

Understanding these historical relations, preventing new conflicts now, and ensuring that future conflicts are avoided require armed groups to act with political understanding and to look toward a better common future.