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An environmental coalition of civil society groups group has issued a statement claiming that recent armed conflict in Karen State is linked to the Burma government’s plans to dam the Salween River. Salween Watch said it was “gravely concerned at the recent escalation of fighting and displacement in Karen state, Burma/Myanmar, which is linked to plans by the Burma Army…

An artillery shell killed four and wounded nine civilians travelling on the Myawaddy – Kawkareik road – a major trading route from Thailand. An unidentified armed group is believed to have fired the shell that landed in front of a shop at Ale Bo Tae on Saturday, October 11. A police officer in Kawkareik Township, who asked to remain anonymous,…

Fighting occurred between the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army and Burma Army on October 10, forcing Karen villagers to flee. The latest armed clashes broke out at around 10am between the DKBA and the government’s army at Kaung Mu village in Kawkareik Township. Sources from the DKBA’s liaison office in Kawkareik said that the fighting lasted about an hour. The fighting…

Aung Naing was six years old when he moved to Nu Poe refugee camp in Thailand, leaving conflict-wracked Karen State, in Eastern Burma. Sitting down in the small compound on the outskirts of Chiang Mai that has been his home for the last 15 months, Aung Naing recalls those first years in the camp. “My mother and father had gone…

A soldier has been killed during fighting between the Karen National Defense Organisation (that operates under the control of the Karen National Union) and the Burma Army. The fighting took place on September 27 near Mu The’ village in Kyaukgyi Township, Pago division, where the Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion #361 was patrolling areas under the control of the KNU.…

In the wake of the Karen National Union’s sudden walk out from the United Nationalities Federal Council’s conference and its subsequent temporary suspension of its membership in the ethnic alliance in late August, Karen communities and Karen civil society organizations were left baffled, confused, shocked, and enraged. They were left wondering what will be next in inter-ethnic relationship and cooperation…

Medics working with civilians displaced by fighting in Kachin State are struggling to cope because of a lack of resources – community based organizations warn of a potential health crisis. Information provided to Karen News by the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand, allege that health workers are struggling to cope with the thousands of people displaced by conflict. “Every month we…

The decision by the leadership of the Karen National Union to suspend membership from the United Nationalities Federal Council in August has been met with both criticism and praise, with one analyst stating the move was the “right decision to make,” while some Karen community leaders have argued it weakens the ethnic groups’ push for peace and ethnic equality. Speaking…

More than 30 ethnic Karen community based organizations, including environmental watchdogs and civil society organizations, have criticized a blueprint for economic development in Southeast Burma published by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), an aid agency that operates under the Japanese government. The report, published on 9 September, by a coalition of 28 Karen CBOs – calling themselves the Karen…

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) criticized the Burma government for failing to keep it’s promise to release all political prisoners, expressing concerns that the number of political prisoners in Burma, following a Presidential amnesty in 2012, is now on the increase. “President U thein Sein announced that he would release all political prisoners in Burma but in reality…