Karen News

They had been stationed at Khawpoke military base in Hpapun Township, in Karen State’s Hpapun District (also called Mutraw District by the Karen), an area mainly controlled by Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade 5. A coalition of Karen Defence forces led by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the KNU, took control of the Khawpoke base…

The bombs killed the mother of a 3-day-old infant, a 70-year-old man, and a 50-year-old man. Six other civilians were also injured, two of whom were monks.. A sugar factory near to near Hsammahse Village and several houses were also destroyed. The junta carried out another airstrike in in Naungcho Township that destroyed several houses the next day, 2 November.…

Fierce fighting erupted near Kye Village in Palaw Township on 14 October. The situation remained tense and subsequent fighting in the following days preventing displaced residents from returning home. An aid worker said: “Clashes continue to occur intermittently, preventing displaced locals from returning home. While there have been clashes in the past, they typically ended quickly, allowing residents to evacuate…

These include migrants from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia and ethnic minorities who have been settled in Thailand for a long time. The long-term migrants being granted citizenship break down into several categories. Approximately 120,000 came to Thailand between 1984 and 1999, and approximately 215,000 arrived between 2005 and 2011. There are also two groups of people born in Thailand, these…

The EU said it was sanctioning the BGF leaders and CLM for their involvement in and financial gains from the activities of scam compounds in Myawaddy Township along Thailand-Myanmar border, particularly in Shwe Kokko, a hub for transnational crime—including online fraud, drug and human trafficking—and widespread human rights violations, such as forced labor and torture. The EU also said that…

If no inhabitants of Ward 3 volunteer to be conscripted the authorities said they would find others to join the army in their stead but, in that case, all Ward 3 residents would have to pay a fee for this to be done. In October, junta-appointed ward administrators distributed pamphlets to households in Ward 3 where men between the ages…

A junta column of over 100 soldiers entered Thayetchaung Township on 25 October and targeted the villages of Tharyathnakhwa, Panpyin, and Meneioe. A resident said to Karen Information Center (KIC): “The junta has been conducting offensives since 25 October. Before launching their attacks, they shelled the area with heavy artillery to clear the way. Villages in Thayetchaung Township are frequently…

The KNLA and its allies first launched an offensive against the junta military base in Ahnankwin Village, which is on the Payathonzu to Thanbyuzayat road, in the second week of August 2024. Since 13 October, the junta has been conducting airstrikes on Ahnankwin Village, and other nearby villages in Kyainseikgyi Township in response to intensified attacks by the KNLA and…

At about 10:00 am on 22 October, four junta kamikaze drones hit the KNLA headquarters located in the Karen National Union’s (KNU) Brigade 7 area, which roughly corresponds to the Myanmar township of Hpa-An. One KNLA member was injured and a building was damaged in the attack. Then, junta drones attacked KNLA security checkpoints in Hlaingbwe Township. Details of that…

The approximately 80 junta troops who had been manning the outposts in Baledo Village, just south of Myawaddy Town in Thaybawboe Region, started fleeing on 19 October and had all left by 20 October, before the KNLA and its allies even engaged with them, according to a member of Cobra Column, one of the groups that took control of the…