Myanmar Spring Chronicle – Scenes from April 24
(MoeMaKa), April 25, 2026
The Impacts of Civil War and the Future That Must Be Rebuilt
In the aftermath of the military coup, the ensuing civil war, the breakdown of governance and rule of law, declining production, disruptions to trade, rapid environmental degradation, and the deterioration of the education and healthcare sectors have all had wide-ranging impacts across multiple areas. Yet, politicians and armed groups involved in the conflict have largely failed to give these consequences sufficient attention.
Since the coup, institutions responsible for upholding the rule of law—such as the police, prosecutors, courts, and prisons—have focused primarily on politically motivated arrests and prosecutions, neglecting cases affecting the general public. As a result, crimes have risen significantly, especially in cities under military control. Starting from incidents like the killing of a delivery worker in Yangon’s Hlaing Tharyar Township shortly after the coup, where the victim’s phone and money were stolen, crime has worsened year by year. In cities like Mandalay today, people are afraid to even hold their phones openly while walking. Motorcycle snatchings of phones, as well as theft of wallets and necklaces, have become common and largely go unpunished.
Just days ago, in Lashio—under military control—a car dealer was lured to show a vehicle, then shot from behind during a test drive and robbed of the car. The perpetrators have yet to be arrested. In cities like Lashio and Muse, frequent killings and kidnappings occur, yet it has become increasingly rare to see perpetrators brought to justice. The reasons for this rise in crime are clear: the inability to enforce the law, easy access to weapons such as firearms, and the ability of criminals to move between separately controlled territories to evade capture—all of which encourage criminal activity.
Even when offenders are caught, the current dysfunctional system offers no guarantee of appropriate punishment. Overcrowded prisons and frequent amnesties further embolden criminals, creating an environment where crimes are committed with increasing boldness.
Moreover, the military regime has shown little interest in investigating or prosecuting such crimes, focusing instead on suppressing political opponents. In areas controlled by resistance forces, attention is primarily on military operations, while a lack of experience and capacity in policing, judiciary systems, and law enforcement has prevented the establishment of effective rule of law.
Due to this widespread lawlessness and surge in crime, there are no reliable figures on how many lives have been lost or how many people have been injured over the past five years.
Beyond rule of law, another severely deteriorating area is environmental and natural resource management. Over the past five years, deforestation, mechanized gold mining in rivers and streams, excessive gemstone extraction, and mining for minerals and rare earth elements have caused widespread land degradation and environmental pollution.
Forest destruction has been extensive in Sagaing Region, Tanintharyi Region, Shan State, and Bago Region. The extent of damage to protected areas like Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park remains unclear due to lack of proper assessment. In Tanintharyi, tropical monsoon forests are being rapidly destroyed by mining and logging activities.
During the civil war, both sides have relied on natural resource extraction to fund military operations. In doing so, short-term financial needs are prioritized over long-term consequences, with little consideration for sustainability.
The destruction of land, forests, and waterways is already leading—and will continue to lead—to rising temperatures, depletion of water resources, increased risks of flooding and landslides, environmental contamination, reduced food production, and serious impacts on public health, both now and in the future.
The global rise in gold prices has also driven widespread gold mining across Myanmar, from north to south and east to west. Recent fires involving fuel barges along the Chindwin River near Homalin highlight the scale of fuel storage needed for gold dredging operations in the area.
In jade-producing Hpakant, despite ongoing battles over the past five years, mining has not stopped—in fact, it has become even more unrestricted than before the war. As prolonged conflict demands more funding, resource extraction intensifies. Similarly, in Mogok, a ruby-producing area under TNLA control, mining has expanded significantly over the past year, even in places previously left untouched for decades, as authorities grant extraction permits to fund military expenses.
In a revolution aimed at freeing the country from authoritarian rule and establishing a responsible, people-centered system, the costs paid in terms of natural resources, environmental destruction, and collapse of rule of law are immense. This raises urgent questions: how can these damages be prevented from worsening before the revolution succeeds, and how can the country rebuild and recover once it does?