Since the military coup in 2021, the regime’s military has faced an unprecedented armed revolt, not only from long-established ethnic revolutionary organizations, but also from newly formed armed resistance groups across the country.
The military has suffered historic losses and humiliating defeats, losing one Military Regional Command (MRC), three Military Operations Commands (MOCs), seven Border Guard Police battalions and 63 of 545 military battalion HQs, as well as more than 2,500 frontline bases including tactical headquarters and frontline headquarters of military divisions.
As a result of these defeats, around 60 towns have fallen into the hands of anti-regime resistance groups across the country.
Based on reports and ground information, The Irrawaddy has compiled a list of the junta military headquarters and divisions that have been occupied by the anti-regime groups.
Northern Shan
During the approximately three-month-long Operation 1027 launched by the Brotherhood Alliance of three powerful armies – the Arakan Army (AA), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) – and allied resistance groups in northern Shan State, the junta lost hundreds of frontline bases as well as 24 military battalion headquarters including military command centers. As result, it lost control of more than half of northern Shan State, including many towns and vital trade routes with China.
Eradicated junta bases in northern Shan
Thirteen military bases have not yet been defeated.
Rakhine State
As part of Operation 1027, the AA has been conducting a large-scale offensive against junta targets in Rakhine State and Paletwa Township in neighboring Chin State since Nov. 13 last year. The ethnic rebel army has managed to eradicate 36 headquarters of military and police battalions, including military command centers, as well as hundreds of frontline junta bases including tactical strongholds.
After seizing around 11 towns or townships, the ethnic army now controls more than half of Rakhine State. Intense clashes are ongoing in Rakhine, as the AA is attempting to seize towns in the south of the state. Meanwhile, the junta is fortifying Rakhine State’s capital Sittwe, as the AA is poised to attack the capital soon.
Eradicated junta battalion headquarters
Twenty junta bases, including the headquarters of Sittwe Military Region, Military Operations Command 5 and the Western Regional Military Command, have not yet been defeated.
Kachin State
Since the 2021 coup, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has been engaged in fighting against the junta. The rebel army has also provided military training to thousands of anti-regime activists, who have gone on to become members of the People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) under the civilian National Unity Government (NUG). Alongside the PDFs, the KIA is attacking the military regime not only in Kachin State, but also in upper Sagaing Region and neighboring Shan State.
The ethnic army has seized several hundred frontline junta bases, as well as a number of towns and eight military battalion headquarters across Kachin State and some areas in northern Shan State. Currently, the KIA is attacking junta bases in Waingmaw Township next to Kachin State’s capital Myitkyina.
Seized junta battalion headquarters in Kachin State
Forty military bases including MOC 3 have not yet been defeated.
Karen State
Thousands of clashes between the regime and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), have been reported in Karen State. The country’s oldest ethnic army has also trained several thousand anti-regime activists, who have gone on to join the PDF.
Alongside the PDF groups, the KNLA has been fighting the regime in Karen and Mon states and Tanintharyi and Bago regions. The ethnic rebel army has also seized hundreds of junta frontline bases and five military battalion headquarters in Karen State.
Recently, KNLA and PDF forces briefly took control of the vital trade town of Myawaddy near the Thai border, after defeating the military headquarters nearby. Currently, the junta is conducting a major offensive, Operation Aung Zeya—which it has called a “state-level operation”—against the KNLA and PDF in Myawaddy, but junta troops engaged in the operation have been stuck in the Daw Na Mountains for about two months and have suffered heavy losses due to resistance attacks.
Eradicated junta battalion headquarters in Karen State
Current status of 10 military divisions
1. Military Division 11
During the fighting with the AA in 2019-20, the division was assigned to conduct military operations in Paletwa and Mindat townships in southern Chin State. When the Brotherhood Alliance launched Operation 1027 in northern Shan State and Rakhine State, the headquarters of Military Division 11 relocated to Mrauk-U Township in northern Rakhine State and conducted military operations along the Kaladan River from Chin State’s Paletwa Township to Mrauk-U.
Brigadier General Min Min Tun, the commander of the division, was killed during fighting with the AA in Mrauk-U Township on Jan. 7, 2024. All 10 battalion headquarters under Military Division 11 were defeated during the fighting with the AA, while the division’s deputy commander and all of its military strategists were either killed or captured.
2. Military Division 22
The military division was assigned to conduct military operations against the AA in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships in northern Rakhine State in 2019-20. Following the 2021 coup, the division was assigned to military operations in the Kawkareik and Kyondoe areas in Karen State, where it was badly defeated by Karen resistance groups and allied PDFs. It no longer leads military operations, but has been involved in Operation Aung Zeya targeting Myawaddy along with military divisions 55 and 44.
3. Military Division 33
The headquarters of the military division is based in jade mining hub Hpakant in Kachin State, and its battalions are deployed to nearby villages. It sent two battalions to conduct military operations in Chin Shwe Haw in northern Shan State during Operation 1027. The entire Light Infantry Battalion 13 was eradicated by the alliance after being airlifted to Chin Shwe Haw in late October 2023.
The division lost its frontline bases around the jade mining hub during offensives by the KIA and allied PDF groups. The remaining bases and troops of Military Division 33 are currently fighting the KIA and PDFs.
4. Military Division 44
The frontline headquarters of the division is located in Myawaddy near the Thai border in Karen State. After it was defeated by Karen resistance and PDF groups during the fighting for the Mount Lat Khat Taung outpost near Myawaddy, the military division’s commander, Brigadier General Win Naung Soe, was replaced with military strategist Colonel Aye Min Naung, who was promoted to brigadier general.
However, Aye Min Naung was killed along with other senior officers during a trip to a military tactical base in Thingyan Nyi Naung near Myawaddy when their chopper was shot down by Karen resistance forces. After his death, Colonel Soe Min Htut, the deputy commander of MOC 13, was appointed as the commander of Military Division 44.
However, due to his incompetent command during the battle for Myawaddy in April 2024, Soe Min Htut was replaced with Colonel Nyi Nyi Thwin, a former instructor at the junta’s Defense Services Academy. The division continues to suffer defeats and has yet to return to full troop strength.
5. Military Division 55
Before the launch of Operation 1027 in northern Shan State, a military tactical unit and four battalions of Military Division 55 were based in Hpasawng Township, Karenni (Kayah) State, while the division’s frontline headquarters were in Mrauk-U Township, Rakhine State. With the launch of Operation 1027, the whole division was assigned to military operations in the Kokang region in northern Shan State.
After suffering defeats, around 850 of the division’s troops, including its commander Brigadier General Zaw Myo Win and 89 other military officers, surrendered to the MNDAA on Jan. 4, 2024. After being handed over to the junta, Brig-Gen Zaw Myo Win was handed a death sentence by a junta military tribunal for surrendering to the ethnic army. The junta then appointed MOC 8 strategist Major Aung Soe Min as the commander of Military Division 55.
Currently, Division 55 is leading the Aung Zeya Operation against the Karen resistance and allied PDF groups in Myawaddy Township alongside the remaining troops of military divisions 22 and 44 as well as two tank battalions, a missile battalion and two artillery battalions. However, the troops conducting the operation have been halted in the Daw Na mountains range and have been suffering heavy defeats for over 50 days.
6. Military Division 66
Following the military coup in February 2021, the division was assigned to military operations in Karenni State. After suffering heavy defeats to Karenni resistance attacks, its operational duty was transferred to MOC 2. However, Division 66 has been assigned as a reserve unit to Loikaw Region Military Command in Karenni State’s capital Loikaw, most of which is under the control of Karenni resistance groups.
7. Military Division 77
The division lost troops during operations in northern Shan State in 2015-16 and Rakhine State in 2019-20. However, it managed to replenish its ranks in 2020. When the junta military staged the coup in 2021, the military division was assigned to security duty in Yangon and Bago.
When anti-regime armed resistance emerged in upper Myanmar, the military division’s headquarters were relocated to northern Sagaing Region and it has conducted military operations against resistance groups there since October 2021. The military division has suffered only light losses. Currently, two tactical units of the miliary division are operating in upper Sagaing Region and another tactical unit is operating in northern Magwe Region near the border with Chin State.
8. Military Division 88
Since the military coup in 2021, the military division has been assigned to the Bhamo area in Kachin State. Its headquarters is in Momauk Township near Bhamo. A military tactical unit and three military battalions of the division are based in Katha Township. The division’s commander Brigadier General Min Htut Oo was killed during a clash with the KIA in the Kone Law area in Momauk Township on March 20. All of its frontline bases except the battalions at Bhamo and Momauk towns were defeated by the KIA, which is currently conducting offensives against the last junta bases in the towns.
9. Military Division 99
The military division has been assigned to the Mongkoe area in northern Shan State since ethnic armies resumed fighting there in 2015-16. Its commander Brigadier General Aung Kyaw Lwin was killed at a strategic hilltop base in Mongkoe during Operation 1027 on Oct. 29, 2023. It also lost strategic frontline bases and military strategists.
The junta appointed Brigadier General Soe Hlaing as commander of the military division on Dec. 10, 2023. Currently, its headquarters, a strategic unit and four military battalions are based in Muse near the Chinese border. Another strategic unit of the military division is assigned to security duty in Mogoke Township in upper Mandalay Region. Another strategic unit comprising three military battalions has been assigned to Kachin State’s Bhamo Township since April 1. The military division has been assigned as an auxiliary force, as it is no longer tasked for operational duty.
10. Military Division 101
In 2017, the division’s headquarters were based in Namhsam Township, northern Shan State, and it conducted military operations in the Palaung Self-Administered Zone in the area. In 2023, a strategic unit of three military battalions under the division was assigned to military operations in Magwe Region. The division’s commander Brigadier General Min Min Tun was arrested by the TNLA during a clash in Namhsam on Dec. 15,2023.
The junta appointed Major Myint Shwe from the Office of the Chief of the Military Staff in Naypyitaw as the new commander of Military Division 101.
The division was assigned to Namshan, Kyaukme and Nawnghkio townships in northern Shan State during Operation 1027.
Currently, it is tasked with security duty for the junta’s garrison town of Pyin Oo Lwin in Mandalay Region and adjacent Nawnghkio, Kyaukme and Hsipaw townships in northern Shan State. A strategic unit under its control is operating in Magwe Region.
Data on fighting and junta troop deployments by Aye Chan Su. Writing by Nayt Thit.
