Karen News

Hlaingbwe Town consists of four wards and had a recorded population of 19,755 in March 2023. For previous rounds of conscription in Hlaingbwe Town, the administrators of the town’s four wards only had to provide one conscript every three months from each ward. But, starting with this round of conscription, the eighth round, ward administrators will have to provide one…

The IDPs are currently staying in the Ashaetaw area which is the eastern part of Dawei Township near the border with Thailand. Their poor accommodation conditions are aggravating the symptoms of flu which has made their need for medication more acute, according to a field official from the Dawna Tanintharyi IDP Assistance Group. He said: “Flu is one of the…

The junta launched Operation Aung Zay Ya on 9 April 2024. Its aim was to retake full control of the Asia Highway between the Karen State towns of Myawaddy, on the border with Thailand, and Kawkareik as well as the old road between Myawaddy and Kawkareik that runs through the Dawna Mountain range which, prior to the opening of the…

The men are being rounded up by junta soldiers, junta-appointed ward administrators and 100-house-group elders, according to a local witness. He said: “The administrator of Ward No. 9 in Hpa-An is currently leading the forced recruitment of young people for conscription. He is notorious for his cruel actions, having previously overseen conscription, the arrest of civilians for forced labor, and…

Paung Village is in Hpa-An District, an area mainly controlled by Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 7. Significant amounts of rock dust have polluted nearby lakes and wells used for drinking water. Many children consuming the contaminated water have suffered from allergies, diarrhoea, skin rashes, and respiratory diseases, according to a KNU village healthcare department official. He added that whilst…

The revelation comes from a report, ‘Children and Families in Tragedy: Massacres in Kawthoolei’ published by the KNU Human Rights Committee (KHRC) on 10 December 2024, International Human Rights Day. It was released to raise public awareness of the junta’s war crimes in Kawthoolei Region and to encourage greater public participation in the pursuit of justice, according to the KHRC.…

There has been tension between the DKBA and the NMSP on the Payathonzu to Palai Japan Road since late November. But, in the first week of December, leaders from both sides met and agreed to stop moving their checkpoints further forward down the road towards each other. The NMSP also agreed to notify the DKBA in advance of when it…

Since 2021, clashes have occurred occasionally in Thaton Township between the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the KNU, and the junta. The junta has been indiscriminately firing artillery into rural areas, forcing locals to flee and preventing many schools from opening. In some villages within the Shweyaungpya Village Tract, children fear attending school because of the…

Many teenagers in the camp are struggling with drug addiction, and the number of female drug users is on the rise, according to Saw Sunday, the Mae La Camp Secretary. He said that following instructions from the Thai authorities, starting in the first week of December, young people in the camp will be subjected to random urine tests to detect…

The junta used two aircraft, a Y-12 utility plane and a jet fighter to drop around 40 bombs in the area of Hsenghkun Village, at about 3:00 am on 3 December 2024. The aircraft carried out eight bombing runs with the Y-12 dropping about 30 bombs and the fighter jet dropping about 10 bombs, according to a source in the…