Burma army

Local Karen community based groups confirmed that an aid worker who was helping displaced villagers in the area was shot and killed by a Burma Army soldier on April 5th. The aid worker was named as Saw O Moo, a villager from Ler Mu Plaw and he is survived by his wife Naw Paw Tha and seven young children. The…

A coalition of Karen community groups accused the Burma army soldiers of breaking the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement and displacing thousands of villagers in Northern Karen State. The Karen Peace Support Network, a network of 29 Karen community-based-organizations issued a statement on March 9, alleging the Burma Army violated the National Ceasefire Agreement. The Karen Peace Support Network said the Burma…

Fighting broke out between troops from Karen National Liberation Army and the Burma Army in Ler Mu Plaw village tract in Papun (Mutraw) District of Northern Karen State on March 6. The clash caused thousands of villagers in the areas to flee. Padoh Saw Gaw, a standing committee member of the Karen National Union’s Mutraw district confirmed to Karen News…

A statue of Karen martyr Saw Ba U Gyi received a tumultuous welcome from local residents in Naung Tal Village under the Karen National Union (KNU)-controlled area in the Mon State’s Kyaikmaraw Township on February 3. The statue is scheduled for installation at the KNU’s Win Yay Township office in Win Yaw area (Kyain-seikgyi Township) of the Karen State on…

Local Karen communities’ plans to raise a statue of their hero and martyr, Saw Ba U Gyi, was objected to by Burma Army commanders in the Three Pagoda Pass town of Win Yay Township, Dooplaya District. Committee members in charge of the Karen New Year celebration in Win Yay [Wor Ray] Township said that the army commanders in the area…

This month another forgotten anniversary is passing by without official acknowledgement. The 8th of August 1988 is remembered for the nationwide protests and crackdown which followed. Troops opened fire on civilians, estimates put the number of people killed at more than three thousand, some as high as ten thousand. Thousands more were arrested. In summaries of the history of Burma,…

The Burma Campaign UK released a statement welcoming the British government’s decision to stop funding and training of Burma’s military forces. The Burma Campaign UK said that in 2016 “the British government spent £305,000 of British taxpayers’ money training the Burmese military – 67% of the money came from the overseas aid budget.” The Burma Campaign UK pointed out in…

Continued fighting between Karen armed groups are forcing more villages into all ready overcrowded displacement camps. Temporary shelters holding displaced villagers in Myaing Gyi Ngu have seen an increase in its population list due to the ongoing skirmishes in Mae Tha Waw areas, Hlaingbwe Township of Karen state. A shelter official said that there are about 500 more villagers joining…

United Nation sources estimates that as many as 30,000 Rohingya have fled Burma for Bangladesh. Media reports from Bangladesh put the numbers closer to 70,000. The Rohingya from Burma’s Rakhine state in the west of the country are estimated to be just over a million in total with an estimated 400,000 taking refuge in Bangladesh. The New York based Human…

The frontline humanitarian organization, Free Burma Rangers, released a report that supports statements made by the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT) that the Burma Army is targeting civilians in Northern Burma. The Free Burma Rangers said that “on August 11th the Burma Army launched an unprovoked attack against civilians in Kasung Village, west of Myitkyina, Kachin State. The FBR said…