According to the National Unity Government (NUG) People’s Defense Forces (PDF), local revolutionary forces and ethnic groups now control 50 per cent of the country.

At an NUG press conference on 16 April, NUG press representative U Nay Bhone Lat said: “50 per cent of the country is under our control. We cannot say exactly which areas and townships.” He added that the NUG will eventually make an official announcement about which areas are under their control but that it will take them time to collate all the information.

Hundreds of PDF battalions, consisting of more than 250 fighters, have been set up since the formation of the NUG. In addition, 354 Local Defence Forces (LDF), consisting of 100 or fewer fighters, have been set up under the Ministry of Defence of the NUG government.

U Htin Lin Aung, the NUG Minister of Communication, Information and Technology said: “Every territory under the sovereignty of the people can be classified as a Democratic Liberated Area. The ethnic armed organization (EAO) controlled regions, PDFs, and the people are beginning to practice self-government, and the military is unable to reach them. The Democratic Liberated Areas are all areas that the military is unable to rule."