An ex-British soldier and an American fighter are among a small but growing number of foreigners training and fighting alongside anti-coup forces in the war against Myanmar’s military regime.
The volunteers say they were inspired by Myanmar’s resistance, which has stood up to one of the most brutal and well-equipped militaries in Southeast Asia since the generals seized power and killed peaceful protesters more than three years ago.
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Myanmar has not experienced the same wave of international volunteers seen in conflicts such as Ukraine or Syria, and there are no coordinated efforts to enlist foreign recruits. Myanmar also has a dizzying number of armed groups scattered across the country.
But foreign fighters, acting in an independent capacity, have travelled to the east and west of Myanmar in clandestine efforts that potentially put them at risk of prosecution in their home countries, and have remained secret until now.
An infantryman in the British army for four years from 2009, with a seven-month tour of Afghanistan, Jason said he returned from eastern Myanmar in late April after eight weeks on the front lines...
The British veteran also fought for Ukraine soon after the start of the Russian invasion, spending about a year and a half in the country, he said.
“I’m not a mercenary,” said Jason. “I do it purely for who I think is the right side”...
He now has plans to organise a team of six to 10 former servicemen from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia and return to help the rebels.
“We have knowledge from four different armies that we can use to teach them,” he said. “My experience there solidified even more my urge to help them. They just want their freedom and democracy.”
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On the other side of Myanmar, in mountainous Chin State, which borders India, the People’s Defence Force Zoland (PDF Zoland) resistance group posted a photo on social media on May 11 showing two foreign volunteers: Azad, from the southern US, alongside a British volunteer, who declined to comment...
Azad described himself as a “leftist internationalist” who volunteered for four years with the Kurdish-led YPG (People’s Protection Units) forces in northern Syria.
The 24-year-old said he was involved in political activism while working at a cafe in the US. He has not served in the military, much like his new Gen Z comrades, who are powering Myanmar’s revolution.
He said his rebel commander was “just a couple of years older” than him and “lots of the soldiers were students before”.
Azad sees the fight for autonomy for the Kurds, Arabs, Christians and other minorities in northern Syria as part of a global struggle which includes the Myanmar revolution and Ukraine’s defence against the Russian invasion.
Citing the close ties between the Myanmar regime and Moscow, which analysts say includes a two-way transfer of weapons, Azad said, “It’s all one struggle.”
For him, volunteering in Myanmar was about “a legitimate exchange in solidarity, realising that all our struggles are connected”.
The whole article is well worth reading, and my hat is off to these brave individuals risking their lives for other peoples’ freedom.