Karen News

Myanmar’s military leaders used its armed forces to launch its coup and take control of the country from its elected government on February 1, 2021. In protest, millions of people took to the streets. The military responded to these protests by sending armed soldiers and police into residential areas to arrest defiant civilians, workers, students, doctors and nurses. In March,…

By Saw Greh Moo* Since the beginning of the coup, some KNU’s military brigades, especially Brigade 1 and 5, openly sided with anti-coup protestors and engaged in intense fighting with the Burma Army. As a result, fighting between the KNU and Burma Army’s troops was confined to these Brigades. Since recent developments all KNU’s seven Brigades and districts have experienced…

By Phil Thornton* If the violence unleashed by the military on unarmed civilians shocked the world, it wouldn’t have shocked those who were familiar with the Tatmadaw. Operating for decades from the shadows of various state apparatuses, the Tatmadaw has spent decades establishing a climate of fear, using a vast network of security agencies, militia, informers and neighborhood spies to…

Reports circulated the Burma Army were putting in place plans to use counter-insurgency strategies against opposition against the military coup – the National Unity Government (NUG) and the People’s Defense Forces (PDF) – taking refuge in KNU controlled territory. Fighting in Karen National Liberation Army 5th and 1st Brigades has now spread to KNLA Brigade 6 and Brigade 7. Local…

By Saw Lahkbaw* Karen Martyrs Day is not a day to be celebrated with light-hearted activities. It is a day of mourning and honoring our martyrs. Celebrations not acknowledging the services and sacrifices of our martyrs is disrespectful. Celebrations without taking the time to remember what our fallen died for is an inadequate response. Karen Martyrs Day is a day…

By Saw Wai Thoo and Sa I Sue Despite her early prevention strategies, Naw Hsa K’Pru Moo was the only one who was to survive. Her grandmother, father, mother and an uncle, all died within a month of COVID-19. The effect of losing her family in over such a short period has taken its toll on Naw Hsa K’Pru Moo.…

It is six months since Myanmar’s military began dismantling the institutional framework supporting the country’s fledgling democracy by propelling a deadly coup to wrest parliamentary control away from the newly-elected National League of Democracy (NLD) government. Soon after the coup in February 2021, the military swiftly targeted voices of dissent and launched a deadly campaign of violence to silence critics.…

By Myra Dahgaypaw* There’s an undercurrent of woman-hating in the term but I’m not one to engage in too much cancel culture. That said, Foreign Policy Deputy Editor James Palmer might want to rethink his recent “Karen” jokes as they relate to recent atrocities committed against the Karen people, an ethnic group in Burma, of which I happen to be…

The border crossing will only open for migrant workers returning to Burma. Many workers traveling from other regions of Thailand to Burma were marooned at Mae Sot due to the closure of border crossing in early June. A Burmese official, responsible for receiving the migrant workers, told Karen News. “Around 800 Burmese workers returning from other provinces in Thailand have…

Parents in rural areas of Karen State said they are unable to get their children immunized during Covid-19 outbreaks and because of the chaos caused by the military coup. A Kawkareik Township resident told Karen News children due to get their vaccinations are unable to do so as health centers, hospitals and clinics are closed. The Kawkareik Township resident explained…