Winning the hearts and minds of fellow citizens is a key pillar of any armed resistance.
The 95,000 civilians thought to have joined Myanmar's grassroots insurgency since the 2021 coup have done that, harnessing people's fury at the military for overthrowing the democratically elected government, imprisoning leader Aung San Suu Kyi and bringing to an end a period of relative freedom. Waging a surprisingly effective and enduring guerrilla war, the People's Defence Forces have taken on an experienced army that has shown no limits to its brutality.
