In their camp hidden in the forested hills of Kayah state near the Thai border, Myanmar anti-junta volunteers practice firing their homemade weapons, do physical training, and play guitar in between skirmishes with the military.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government in February and launched a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

In some areas civilians have formed "defence forces" to combat the State Administration Council, as the junta dubs itself, often using hunting rifles or weapons manufactured at makeshift factories.

"I've been away from my family more than three months," one member of the defence force at the camp told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"I will return home after this revolution."

During that time the group of roughly 60 has fought around twenty skirmishes with the Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, he said.

Communication is patchy in the country's eastern states, and AFP was unable to verify the number of clashes.

Since the coup, fighting between Myanmar's military and rebel groups in the east of the country has displaced an estimated 100,000 people, the UN said last month.

Locals in Kayah state have accused the military of using artillery shells that have landed in villages.

That has only hardened resolve to take up arms.

"We will never forget and forgive till the end of the world" reads a tattoo across the neck of one volunteer.

The wooden rifle of another has "Spring Revolution" carved into the butt and barrel in Burmese script.

In a mixture of combat camouflage and T-shirts, the volunteers go on patrol, navigating single track paths through the jagged hills.

They practice firing their motley assemblage of weapons at a makeshift firing range.

During downtime, one plays guitar on a bench while another resting inside a tent checks his weapon.

More than 890 people have been killed by the junta's security forces since February 1, according to a local monitoring group.

As well as the rise of local self-defence forces, analysts believe hundreds of anti-coup protesters from Myanmar's towns and cities have trekked into insurgent-held areas to receive military training.

The civilian fighters are often outnumbered and outgunned in clashes with Myanmar's military -- one of Southeast Asia's most battle-hardened and brutal.

But the volunteers are determined to fight on.

"If we all fight, we will win," one told AFP.

"I believe we can win."

Myanmar rebel group suspends key leader in massacre investigation
Bangkok (AFP) July 10, 2021 - A prominent ethnic rebel group in Myanmar suspended one of its key leaders this week, a spokesman said Saturday, as it investigates an alleged massacre of civilians on its territory.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since a February coup ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government, sparking huge protests among civilians and renewing clashes between the military and ethnic rebel armies in its border regions.

The Karen National Union (KNU) -- one of Myanmar's largest rebel groups in its east, which has tussled with the military for decades -- has been locked in renewed conflict with the army since the coup.

In May, state-run media accused fighters from one of the group's armed wings, the Karen National Defence Organisation (KNDO), of a May 31 massacre of 25 construction workers -- an allegation the KNU had said it would investigate.

Spokesman Padoh Saw Taw Nee confirmed Saturday that the KNDO's head, General Ner Dah Bo Mya, and his subordinate Lieutenant Saw Ba Wah have been "suspended temporarily".

"According to the Geneva Conventions, even if they are our enemies, we just arrest them, you cannot kill like that," he said.

"We stand firmly on our commitment to the Geneva Conventions and the international community, and we have to deal with this carefully."

The decision -- made on Monday by KNU leaders -- will inject more discord within the rebel group, whose political divisions over the handling of the junta have spilled out in recent months to the public.

Padoh Saw Taw Nee defended the suspension as "part of our procedures".

- 'We cannot mingle with the devil' -

But General Ner Dah Bo Mya blasted the decision, saying that the KNU's political leaders had refused to hear the KNDO's side.

He alleged that Burmese soldiers had ambushed his troops with mortar artillery as they were arresting military intelligence personnel.

"During the armed conflict, the soldiers didn't take care," he told AFP, adding that he did not want to cooperate with the investigation because "they didn't talk to me".

"Our grand leader and politicians should side with us instead of working with the enemies," he said.

"We cannot mingle with the devil."

Myanmar's border regions are a patchwork of territories and alliances held by more than two dozen rebel groups, most of whom have fought with the military for more autonomy and resources.

Since the coup the KNU has clashed sporadically with the Myanmar military along the Thai border.

In March its fighters seized a military post and the army retaliated with air raids, the first in more than 20 years in Karen state.

The group has also condemned the military for the power grab, and provided shelter to dissidents working to oust the State Administration Council -- as the junta has dubbed itself.

Nearly 890 people have been killed by the junta's security forces since February 1, according to a local monitoring group.

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