Lorcan Lovett

Lorcan Lovett is a journalist based in Southeast Asia. He covers Myanmar for international news outlets and for his Substack, On Myanmar.

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EXPLAINER

Who is fighting in Myanmar’s multi-front civil war?

Alliances are fluid in Myanmar’s civil war, involving a military regime, ethnic armed groups and pro-democracy forces.

👁 In this photo taken on January 24, 2026, a soldier stands guard during a press tour at a drug production site southwest of Mongyai, northern Shan State, that was captured by the Myanmar military. The Southeast Asian country has long been a hive for illegal drug trade, but analysts say the civil war triggered by a 2021 military coup has increased production and trafficking. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP)

Russian weapons, tactics seen in Ukraine are shaping Myanmar’s civil war

Russian role felt in Myanmar, from aircraft to waves of conscripts launching ‘meat assaults’ made infamous in Ukraine.

👁 Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Myanmar's military chief Min Aung Hlaing

China, India watch as Arakan Army advances on key western frontier

Arakan Army fighters seize 14 of 17 townships in Rakhine, pledge to liberate entire frontier state in western Myanmar.

👁 This handout photo taken and released on January 9, 2025 by the Arakan Army (AA) ethnic minority armed group shows people looking at burning homes at the site of a suspected air strike carried out by Myanmar's military at Kyauk Ni Maw village in Ramree island in western Rakhine State. A Myanmar junta air strike killed at least 40 people in a town in western Rakhine state, a rescue worker and ethnic minority armed group told AFP on January 9, 2025. (Photo by Handout / Arakan Army (AA) / AFP) / -----EDITORS NOTE --- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / ARAKAN ARMY (AA) " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Could an earthquake shift the balance in Myanmar’s civil war?

Aftershocks of Myanmar’s devastating earthquake add new dimension to country’s four-year-long civil war.

👁 A soldier from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) patrols in a vehicle beside an area destroyed by an air strike in Myawaddy, a town under KNLA control, on April 15, 2024 [Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters]

‘Inch by inch’: Myanmar rebels close in on key military base in Chin State

Under heavy Myanmar air force attacks, Chin rebels pay heavy price for success of ‘Mission Jerusalem’.

👁 Resistance reinforcements sit on the back of a pickup truck as they leave to the frontline in Falam township, Chin State, Myanmar, in January 2025 [Valeria Mongelli/Al Jazeera]

Q&A: Leader of Myanmar’s shadow gov’t talks civil war strategy in 2025

Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) seeks to deal a decisive blow to the country’s military rulers in 2025.

👁 Myanmar's National Unity Government (NUG) Acting President Duwa Lashi La [Courtesy of Duwa Lashi La]

Soldier students: Job training gives hope to Myanmar’s military defectors

Defectors from Myanmar’s military and police are learning skills that could put them on a new path after years of war.

👁 A repair instructor, former Myanmar navy personnel, center left, and regime defectors stand among bicycles during an e-bike and bicycle repair workshop near the Thailand-Myanmar border on November 1, 2024. [Valeria Mongelli/Al Jazeera]

Myanmar’s ‘Muslim Company’ joins revolution to topple military rulers

Muslims join fight under multiethnic leadership as groups once marginalized are embraced by Myanmar’s revolution.

👁 Thandar, a 28-year-old combat medic, has served in 3rd Company since October 2021 [Lorcan Lovett/Al Jazeera]

EXCLUSIVE

Western volunteers join the battle against Myanmar’s military regime

Travelling independently to Southeast Asia, they say they were inspired by the bravery of the anti-coup fighters.

👁 Azad, a US national, (left) and an unnamed British fighter (right) with the PDF Zoland. The two men are standing either side of a desk where another fighter is sitting with weapons on display. There is a flag behind them. The men are all masked.

LONG READ

Myanmar’s jungle war: ‘If I don’t die now, when will I?’

Life and death on the front lines of fighting in Myanmar’s Kayah state.

👁 This handout from the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) taken on May 23, 2022 and received on May 30 shows members of the KNDF taking part in a training session for female special forces members and women battalions at their base camp in the forest near Demoso in Myanmar's eastern Kayah state. (Photo by Handout / KARENNI NATIONALITIES DEFENSE FORCE (KNDF) / AFP) / -----EDITORS NOTE --- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / KARENNI NATIONALITIES DEFENCE FORCE (KNDF)" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - -----EDITORS NOTE --- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / KARENNI NATIONALITIES DEFENCE FORCE (KNDF)" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS /

URL: https://www.aljazeera.com/author/lorcan-lovett

⇱ Lorcan Lovett | Al Jazeera