Karen News

The displaced population, currently taking refuge at the Palaw Ta Po camp near the Thaungyin (Moei) River, is trapped in Hpalu village and Minletpan village. Heightened combat activity and roaming junta columns have left civilians afraid to leave the camp, while rising monsoon river levels prevent safe retreat across the border into Thailand. Fears of targeted strikes mounted after an…

On August 15, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)—the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU)—and allied groups overran junta positions in Kwimaungtaing Village, forcing regime troops to retreat and abandon weapons and ammunition. Within 24 hours of the defeat, the junta launched air and ground strikes to regain the position. Heavy fighting has since spread across the Htihpoezan…

The crackdown follows a wave of arrests and prosecutions targeting illegal cross-border trade. Traders and drivers bringing in Thai merchandise with the assistance of junta-aligned Karen armed groups have been detained, along with members of the armed factions who facilitated the shipments. “Almost everyone who helped the trucks get through—including the drivers—was arrested and sentenced to two to three years…

The children, who were born inside the camp along the Thai-Myanmar border, hold 13-digit identification cards issued by Thailand’s Ministry of Interior (MOI). Because current regulations restrict cardholders from leaving the camp, the MOE ordered all 13 students suspended from Thai government schools outside the camp in early August, Thai news outlet The Reporters reported. “We only found out after…

Despite announcements by Thai authorities that border telecommunications lines had been severed to suppress illicit operations—locally known as Zhapian businesses—the criminal rings continue to maintain high-speed internet access along the Thai-Myanmar border. When scam compounds initially relocated into remote, mountainous DKBA territory south of Myawaddy, they lacked basic phone or internet infrastructure. Operators relied heavily on Starlink satellite devices, paying…

The missing individuals—residents of Wah Mee Hta village in the Thaybawboe village tract—left on July 10 in a tractor to retrieve a vehicle that was stuck on the Mekanei–Hpalu road. They have not been heard from since. Local sources indicate the men inadvertently encountered advancing Myanmar military troops along a road section affected by active fighting and were subsequently detained.…

The joint call marked the international observance on August 9, held this year under the theme “Honoring Indigenous Midwives: Safeguarding Life and Well-being.” Saw Paul Sein Twa, chairman of the Salween Peace Park Committee, highlighted the indispensable role these traditional birth attendants—known locally as let-thaes—play as frontline caregivers amidst widespread military conflict and displacement. “When hospitals and clinics are forced…

Displacement crisis in Karenni State forces immediate landmine clearance Insight Myanmar (7 Aug 2026) The Karenni Interim Executive Council was founded in June 2023 based on bottom-up governance at the state level, with a view to an eventual federal democratic union. Amid the conflict, the IEC’s goals are to foster cooperation among different forces within Karenni State, deliver public services,…

Speaking at the event focused on the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda on Aug. 3, Naw K’nyaw Paw, chairwoman of the Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO), emphasized that women have become the primary architects of local administration and humanitarian response under military rule. “Myanmar women are not waiting for someone to come and save us,” Naw K’nyaw Paw said. “We…

In a statement issued July 31, the alliance of community-based women’s organizations urged anti-junta resistance forces, emerging federal authorities, and the international community to enforce accountability and deliver justice for survivors. According to the WLB, successive military regimes have systematically used sexual violence as a weapon of war throughout Myanmar’s decades-long civil conflict. Since the February 2021 coup alone, the…