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The Karen National Liberation Army 2nd Brigade based in the Taungoo District confirmed to Karen News that a small firefight between its solders and the government troops happened on April 20. Lieutenant Saw Prah, company commander of the KNLA 2nd Brigade’s security force told Karen News that the fighting was between his soldiers and the Burma Army’s Infantry Battalion 589…

Human Rights advocates, Fortify Rights urged the US State Department to “assign Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and Bangladesh a tier-three ranking in its forthcoming Trafficking in Persons (TIP). Fortify Rights in a statement to the media said the tier-three ranking would “encourage more robust and effective action to combat human trafficking,” by the three Southeast Asian countries. Fortify Rights executive director…

Burma Army soldiers from the 88th Division have allegedly killed two civilians, including a 103-year-old, in Kachin State. The incident, which occurred on the 21st of March at around 10:30 in the morning, saw soldiers from two battalions attack Mahtek Village, in Mansi Township near the Kachin Independence Army’s 27th Battalion area. Villagers fled the attack and sought refuge in…

To commemorate the first anniversary of the death of U Win Tin, 21 pro-democracy organizations called for Burma’s Prisoners of Conscience Affairs Committee to be reformed. In a statement the groups said that 21st April, “people around the world will be wearing a blue shirt or blue clothing in memory of U Win Tin, who served nearly 20 years in…

In an exclusive series of interviews with Karen News, Padoh Naw Zipporah Sein, vice chairperson of the Karen National Union talks about a diverse range of critical issues facing ethnic people. In part 1, Ms Sein gives her perspective on the progress of the draft nationwide ceasefire agreement between the Burmese government and the country’s ethnic armed groups. Ms Sein…

The Karen National Union is holding a central standing committee emergency meeting to discuss the draft nationwide ceasefire agreement and the ethnic armed organization summit at its headquarters at Lay Wah, Hlaingbwe Townhip in Pa-an District from April 20-22, 2015. Padoh Naw Zipporah Sein, vice chairperson of the KNU spoke to Karen News about the meeting. “There will be presentations…

Refugees who lost their homes to fire that ripped through the Karenni camp in early April, will have their homes rebuilt in early May according to camp officials. The fire that broke out on April , destroyed 188 houses and made homeless 867 refugees. The Karenni Camp No. 1, also known as Ban Mai Nai Soi, is on the Thai…

The United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) released a statement on 7 April, 2015, to make clear its position on the nationwide ceasefire agreement reached with the Burmese government on March 31. The UNFC statement pointed out that the document, its Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) signed on March 31, 2015, “was not the signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA),…

The Burma Children Medical Fund organized and took a team of health specialists from Mae Tao Clinic, located in the Thai border town of Mae Sot and from Lampang Hospital, northern Thailand to Hpa-an in eastern Burma. The health specialists were in Hpa-an to do echocardiogram screenings on children and adults with heart problems. Ms Thornton said that the echocardiogram…

Terrified residents ran from their homes as a fire tore through a refugee camp on the Thai Burma border in Mae Hong Song Province. Camp residents said the fire started at around 11am, on Tuesday 7 April, in the kitchen of a resident’s house in Karenni Refugee camp No. 1 also known as Ban Mai Nai Soi and quickly spread,…