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The Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon (Rangoon) in Myanmar
Image: Peter Schickert/picture allianceImage: Peter Schickert/picture alliance

Myanmar

Myanmar, also known as Burma, is a Southeast Asian country with Naypyitaw as its capital. It has been predominantly ruled by a military junta, except for the brief period from 2015 to 2021.

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All Content on this topic

Doku Zwangsarbeit in Asiens Betrugsfabriken

Scam Factories in Myanmar: Cyber Slavery

Thousands of people are forced to scam people online from factories in Southeast Asia.
TechnologyNovember 8, 202412:36 min
Myanmar military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing shakes hands with a military officer while members of the State Administration Council including deputy leader Vice Senior Gen. Soe Win, far right, see off his departure to China at airport in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024

Myanmar military chief visits China amid worsening civil war

The Myanmar junta has been struggling to halt a rebel offensive that has seized swathes of territory.
ConflictsNovember 6, 2024
Min Aung Hlaing shaking hands with Myanmar military officers

Myanmar's isolated junta chief visits China

Min Aung Hlaing is visiting the Chinese city of Kunming for a summit of states from the Greater Mekong Subregion.
PoliticsNovember 5, 2024
A local fisherman navigates past a boat carrying Rohingya refugees anchored near the Indonesian coast

Indonesia leaves Rohingya refugees trapped at sea

United Nations refugee agency urges Indonesian government to rescue over 100 Rohingya refugees stranded off its coast.
MigrationOctober 23, 202401:25 min
ASEAN leaders take part in a plenary session of the 44th Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Laos.

New push for Myanmar peace plan at ASEAN summit

DW asks Asia analyst Lina Alexandra how ASEAN could contribute to end the crisis in civil war driven Myanmar.
PoliticsOctober 9, 202404:01 min
Aerial view of a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh

Rohingya refugee: 'Myanmar soldiers put us in front'

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are reportedly being forced to fight in Myanmar's civil war. DW investigates.
ConflictsSeptember 24, 202402:13 min
A Rohingya woman carries jackfruits at Cox's Bazar

Bangladesh: Can West help Yunus deal with Rohingya crisis?

Nearly a million Rohingya refugees have sought safety in Bangladesh, after facing purges and violence in Myanmar.
ConflictsSeptember 17, 2024
Residents seen on a boat on a flooded street in Myanmar.

Myanmar: Death toll from floods rises to 226

Floods from Typhoon Yagi have claimed the lives of 226 people in Myanmar. The damage is impeding delivery of aid.
CatastropheSeptember 17, 2024
Myanmar rescue workers carry a small child and a boat is dragged through knee high water

Typhoon Yagi: Myanmar makes rare request for aid — report

Myanmar's junta have been blocking all humanitarian assistance from abroad since taking power in a 2021 coup.
Nature and EnvironmentSeptember 14, 2024
Rescuers in Lang Nu, Vietnam

Typhoon Yagi batters Thailand, Myanmar as Vietnam cleans up

The death toll has continued to rise across Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand, while scores of people remain missing.
CatastropheSeptember 13, 2024
A woman wading through floodwaters in Hanoi, Vietnam

Typhoon Yagi: Evacuations in Hanoi as death toll passes 150

More than 150 people have been killed and many more are still missing.
CatastropheSeptember 11, 2024
A house with a roof damaged by a bomb

Myanmar: What we know about the recent Rohingya killings

The Arakan Army rebel group is making sweeping gains and challenging the military junta and Rohingya fighters.
ConflictsSeptember 9, 2024
Maung Saungkha wearing sunglasses

Myanmar's poet-warrior shares a vision for democracy

DW spoke with a poet-turned-rebel commander who is bringing diverse groups together against Myanmar's junta.
ConflictsAugust 22, 2024
Destroyed houses in Minbya Township after a battle in May

Myanmar's Rohingya caught in crossfire of civil war

The Rohingya minority have become embroiled in a power struggle between the ruling junta and ethnic rebel groups.
ConflictsAugust 20, 2024
A man looks on at homes destroyed after air and artillery strikes in Mung Lai Hkyet displacement camp, in Laiza, Myanmar on October 10, 2023

Myanmar: War crimes escalating 'substantially,' UN says

In a new report, investigators from the UN cited examples of torture, rape and arbitrary detention.
CrimeAugust 13, 2024
Members of an ethnic armed forces group, one of the three militias known as the Three Brotherhood Alliance, check weapons the group allegedly seized from Myanmar's army outpost on a hill in Hsenwi township in Shan state, Myanmar, on Nov. 24, 2023

Myanmar junta on back foot as ethnic rebels capture key base

The seizure of one of the military's regional commands by armed resistance groups has dealt a huge blow to the regime.
ConflictsAugust 7, 2024
A woman in face mask talks to DW

Young men and women flee Myanmar's military conscription

DW caught up with draft evaders fleeing Myanmar after the junta activated a conscription law.
ConflictsJuly 29, 202401:42 min
A large group of women, girls and boys stand under a makeshift shelter

Rohingya refugee women in Bangladesh fight for their rights

The lives of Rohingya women in Bangladesh's camps are heavily constrained by their own communities and criminal gangs.
PoliticsJuly 17, 202406:38 min
DW "Global Us" logo shows the head of a woman upside down and a man right way up

No way out: The plight of the displaced Rohingya — Global Us

Rohingya women suffer in the world's largest refugee camp in Bangladesh and UV rays clean drinking water in Brazil.
Nature and EnvironmentJuly 15, 202426:04 min
A farmer squats in a poppy field in Myanmar

Myanmar's civil war drives up drug production

More farmers are turning to illegal drug production as civil war disrupts Myanmar's legitimate economy.
ConflictsJune 5, 2024
Doku Zwangsarbeit in Asiens Betrugsfabriken

Scam factories in Myanmar

Thousands of workers in Southeast Asia are being forced to scam people online.
TechnologyMay 3, 202401:20 min
Soldiers from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) patrol on a vehicle

Myanmar: Civil war of 'many against many' tearing country up

A coup caused civil war in Myanmar 4 years ago. Armed groups have grown in a land already rife with ethnic tensions.
ConflictsApril 27, 2024
Two rebel fighters patrol in Myawaddy

Myanmar: Anti-junta rebellion enters new stage

The military regime in Myanmar is fighting for its survival, but can still mount devastating strikes against rebels.
ConflictsApril 19, 2024
Aung San Suu Kyi in 2019

Myanmar: Why was Aung San Suu Kyi moved to house arrest?

With pressure mounting on the Myanmar junta, the fate of democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi could play an key role.
ConflictsApril 18, 2024
Protest in 2021 for the National League for Democracy (NLD) Party, with banner showing Aung San Suu Kyi

Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi moved from prison amid heat wave

Myanmar's junta says it has moved elderly prisoners, including former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, amid severe heat.
PoliticsApril 17, 2024
Students in Manila, the Philippines, trying to protect themselves from heat wave

Southeast Asia suffers from blistering heat

Rice prices are rising, schools are closed, and people are scrambling to avoid the heat as El Nino grips Southeast Asia.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 15, 20248 images
A military personnel stands guard, as 200 Myanmar military personnel withdrew to a bridge to Thailand on Thursday after a days-long assault by the anti-junta resistance, which declared it had won control of the critical border town of Myawaddy.

Myanmar junta facing growing opposition

The ruling junta is facing growing opposition from rebel forces and a drop in support among the population.
ConflictsApril 13, 202401:55 min
Thai soldiers standing guard near the Myanmar border on April 10, 2024

Myanmar: Junta troops withdraw from border town, rebels say

Anti-junta rebels say they have driven government troops from a key border hub near Thailand.
ConflictsApril 11, 2024
Fighters from the Karen National Liberation Army at a former Myanmar army outpost in the southern part of Myawaddy

Myanmar: Rebel fighters pressure junta at border hub

The Myanmar military and an ethnic minority armed group clash over an important frontier trading point.
ConflictsApril 10, 2024
Teuku Samsul Alam, Assistant at the Regional Secretariat of West Aceh District speaks to DW in front of a refugee shelter

Why Indonesians now resent Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh

Hostility toward Rohingya migrants is growing in Indonesia's coastal communities. DW reports from West Aceh.
MigrationApril 9, 202403:09 min
The parliament building in Naypyitaw

Myanmar junta says drones shot down over capital

The attack comes with the ruling military junta fighting battles on several fronts against ethnic insurgents.
ConflictsApril 4, 2024
This photo shows a female member of the Mandalay People's Defence Forces (MDY-PDF) piloting a drone on the frontline amid clashes with Myanmar's military in northern Shan state.

Myanmar: 'No space for a quick fix,' says ex-UN country head

The world needs to think outside the box to resolve the Myanmar conflict, said former UN country chief Charles Petrie.
ConflictsMarch 27, 2024
A young man from Myanmar poses in front of the camera with a military salute.

Young people in Myanmar flee junta conscription

DW interviews a group of men who have fled to Thailand to escape the military government's forced conscription.
ConflictsMarch 27, 202403:04 min
DW "Global Us" Sendungslogo Composite

Starting over: A new beginning for young and old

Conscription causes thousands to flee Myanmar and two inspirational people prove life is far from over at 80 plus!
MigrationMarch 22, 202426:06 min
Rohingya refugees stand on their capsized boat before being rescued in the waters off West Aceh.

Dozens of Rohingya refugees saved in dramatic sea rescue

At least 69 Rohingya refugees have been rescued off the coast of Indonesia after their boat capsized a day earlier.
MigrationMarch 22, 202401:49 min
A photograph made available on 08 May 2009 showing a small boat stopping along a lake at the rear of Aung San Suu Kyi's home in Yangon

Aung San Suu Kyi's iconic home on sale for $150m tag

The house was subject to a legal battle between Suu Kyi and her estranged brother.
PoliticsMarch 20, 2024
Footbridge in Wale on the Thai-Myanmar border

Escaping to Thailand: Fleeing military service in Myanmar

Plans by the Myanmar junta to forcibly conscript young people have prompted thousands to flee the country.
MigrationMarch 17, 2024
Many young people in Myanmar have tried to flee to Thailand to escape conscription.

Thousands try to flee Myanmar over prospective draft law

Many young people in Myanmar have tried to flee to Thailand to escape conscription.
ConflictsMarch 14, 202402:29 min
An aerial shot of the scam factory KK Park

China repatriates hundreds of scam factory survivors

More than 1,000 victims of human trafficking have been freed from scam factories in Myanmar.
Human RightsFebruary 29, 2024
Armed members of Bangladesh border police look towards the Myanmar border

How is Myanmar's civil war impacting Bangladesh?

Neighboring Bangladesh may soon need to reach out to Myanmar rebels in Rakhine state on security and refugee issues.
ConflictsFebruary 22, 2024
A man holds up a phone with the image of his mother who was killed in stray shelling

Bangladeshi villagers fear Myanmar conflict spillover

Many Bangladeshis living in border villages say they are worried about escalating fighting in Myanmar.
ConflictsFebruary 20, 202403:12 min
Zin Mar Aung, the foreign minister of the National Unity Government of Myanmar, talks to DW.

China is engaging with both sides in Myanmar's civil war

Zin Mar Aung, foreign minister of the ousted National Unity Government, talks about China's role stabilizing Myanmar.
PoliticsFebruary 18, 202419:09 min
Soldiers stand guard near a prison as they block a road in Naypyidaw

Myanmar conscription spotlights junta's weakening grip

Myanmar's junta has activated a law that will see men and women called up for at least two years of military service.
ConflictsFebruary 14, 2024
Members of an honor guard march during a ceremony marking Myanmar's 76th anniversary of Independence Day in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024.

Myanmar junta introduces compulsory military service

Myanmar's military junta has introduced mandatory military service for young men and women as it struggles for control.
ConflictsFebruary 11, 2024
A doctor wearing a face mask examines a young boy who is sitting on his mother's lap in a health care facility

Myanmar doctor cares for fellow refugees in India

In Zokhawthar, eastern India, DW meets a refugee doctor doing what he can to help other refugees who have fled Myanmar.
HealthFebruary 3, 202403:13 min
A woman and two children inside a refugee camp in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazaar district in 2022

Rohingya in Bangladesh demand action against police abuse

Several Rohingya women told DW that they've faced sexual assault by security forces at an overcrowded refugee camp.
Law and JusticeFebruary 2, 2024
Myanmar refugees from ethnic Rohingya are seen at wet market near their house in conjunction with World refugees day in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on June 21, 2018.

Malaysia: Over 100 Rohingya flee migrant detention center

One of the migrants who fled the immigration center was killed in a road accident.
Human RightsFebruary 2, 2024
Members of the Myanmar's military security force patrol a street on the third anniversary of the military coup in Yangon on February 1, 2024

Armed resistance tests Myanmar junta's grip on power

Myanmar's embattled junta has warned it will do "whatever it takes" to crush the opposition to its rule.
ConflictsFebruary 1, 2024
A Myanmar migrant worker in Thailand

Underpaid and overworked: Myanmar migrants in Thailand

Myanmar's February 2021 coup has driven many to leave their homeland in search of a better life in neighboring Thailand.
SocietyJanuary 31, 202408:55 min
An aerial image shows KK Park on the Moei River

How Chinese mafia are running a scam factory in Myanmar

In KK Park, those who refuse to scam face torture, starvation and even murder. DW investigates the brutal compound.
Human RightsJanuary 30, 2024