Myanmar’s NUG and ethnic armies unite

Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG) has joined forces with four major ethnic armed organisations to form a new leadership body aimed at coordinating resistance against military rule.

The Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union (SCEF) was unveiled on Monday, bringing together the NUG, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the Karen National Union (KNU), the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) and the Chin National Front (CNF).

NUG acting president Duwa Lashi La described the council as a “milestone” in the Spring Revolution, stressing that it would synchronise political and military strategy. The announcement comes just days before the junta installs a military-backed government led by Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief who has dominated Myanmar’s politics since the 2021 coup.

KNPP secretary-general U Aung Hsan Myint said the council was designed to accelerate the armed revolution while presenting a united political front to the international community. He added that the process was also about building consensus for a genuine federal democratic union.

The SCEF is the second major attempt to unify anti-junta forces since the coup. The earlier National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) faltered amid internal disagreements, prompting several groups to withdraw. By regrouping under the new council, leaders hope to overcome past coordination problems and fill what they describe as a leadership gap that has persisted for five years.

The council has pledged to dismantle dictatorship, abolish the military-drafted 2008 Constitution, and draft a new federal charter. It also promises transitional justice for victims of wartime abuses and guarantees of equality and self-determination for all ethnic nationalities.

Whether the SCEF can succeed where previous alliances have failed remains uncertain. But for many in Myanmar’s resistance movement, the creation of a unified command marks a crucial step in their fight to end military rule and build a federal democratic union.

-2026-04-02