People's Defence Force (PDF)

The People's Defence Force (PDF) is the armed resistance network announced on 5 May 2021 by the National Unity Government (NUG), the parallel administration formed by ousted elected lawmakers and ethnic representatives after the State Administration Council (SAC) junta led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing seized power on 1 February 2021.

The PDF emerged from the broader Civil Disobedience Movement and street protests that the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Armed Forces) violently suppressed in the months following the coup. After peaceful demonstrations were met with lethal force, the NUG declared a "defensive war" in September 2021, formally calling on PDF units and allied Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) to confront the junta.

PDF structure is decentralised. It includes:

• Battalion-level units nominally under NUG Ministry of Defence command.
• Local Defence Forces (LDFs) organised at township or village level, often operating semi-autonomously.
• Joint operations with established EAOs such as the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), and Chin National Front, which have provided training, weapons, and sanctuary.

The PDF gained significant battlefield momentum after Operation 1027, launched on 27 October 2023 by the Three Brotherhood Alliance (MNDAA, TNLA, and Arakan Army) in northern Shan State, which PDF units joined or paralleled across Sagaing, Magway, and other regions. The offensive resulted in the loss of numerous junta outposts and towns.

The junta designates the PDF a terrorist organisation; the NUG and many of its international supporters frame it as a legitimate resistance force. Funding comes largely from diaspora donations, NUG bond sales, and cryptocurrency contributions. The PDF's command coherence, weapons supply, and post-conflict integration with EAOs remain central questions for analysts tracking Myanmar's civil war.