With homemade rifles, Myanmar self-defence groups take fight to junta

At makeshift factories hidden in Myanmar's jungle, locals who have formed self-defence groups make rifles to take the fight to the military junta, but their homemade weapons don't always hit the mark. 

Myanmar has been in chaos and its economy paralysed since the generals ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's government in February, accusing it of fraud during 2020 elections.

Several communities across Myanmar -- especially in townships that have seen a high death toll at the hands of police -- have formed local "defence forces".

At one workshop in Kayah state near the Thai border, an amateur gunsmith -- pieces of wood strewn around him, the sounds of saws and hammering in the background -- prepares to fit a trigger guard.

Another applies the final touches to the stock with a sander, before examining the finished product: a bolt-action rifle that would not look out of place in a WWI film.