DKBA

A Democratic Karen Buddhist Army commander told Karen News that the breakaway DKBA factions that refused to give up their Karen identity and come under the direct control of the Burma Army by becoming members of the Border Guard Force have begun restructuring their political and military aims. The decision was taken at a meeting in August that involved all…

The Burma government’s recently implemented Border Guard Force in Karen State continues to see its soldiers’ desert to join up with opposition forces. This week another 30 soldiers aligned themselves to the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army battalion in the Myaing Gyi Ngu area and led by Major Saw Beeh. Brigadier General Saw Jonny, the commander of the Karen National Union…

The Kayin State Democracy and Development Party (KSDDP) based in Hpa-an in Karen State, announced in the state-controlled media that it did not recognize the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army and claimed that the group undermines peace and stability of the State under the name of DKBA. The KSDDP’s statement ran in the state run newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar,…

I can’t remember how many times the Karen National Union and other ethnic political organisations have been dismissed as losing, or being on the verge of defeat. In February 1950 General Ne Win boasted to international media that victory over the Karen ‘insurgents’ would be completed by May that year. The New York Times duly reported: “Defeat of rebels withdrawing…

“I was asked to speak at the 61st Karen Martyrs’ Day commemoration ceremony. Karen people came together to pay homage to their men, women and in some cases children, who had given their lives for their people. Emotions were high. Nearly all Karen people have lost someone they have loved in the struggle against the Burma military regime. At one…

For the first time in 15 years the Karen National Liberation Army and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army stood side-by-side to commemorate their fallen comrades at the 61st anniversary of Karen Martyrs’ Day. The historic event took place on August 12 at an area under the control of the Karen National Union in Kawkariek Township, Karen State. The DKBA broke…

The desertion, in April of a 1,000 Border Guard Force soldiers from under the control of the Burma Army has given a huge boost to other Karen armed groups. Karen News reporter Saw K’ Shee has just returned from interviewing the renegade BGF leader, Major Saw Beeh at his undisclosed jungle headquarters. The former BGF fighters are well organised. They…

Since July 2010, Burma’s military regime has insisted on keeping the Myawaddy-Mae Sot border checkpoint closed in retaliation for what it claims was the unofficial construction of a concrete embankment on the Thai side. A year has almost passed and the border crossing between Mae Sot and Myawaddy is still closed. In spite of rumours that it would open after…

Karen National Liberation Army sources confirmed that clashes in May in the Walay area of Myawaddy Township between Karen fighters and the Burmese army had killed six Burmese soldiers and wounded seven others. Major General Saw Kyi Aung, commander of KNLA Battalion 201 who fought in the clashes, said KNLA forces engaged Burmese troops from Light Infantry Brigade 371 based…

The Burma Army plans to militarize eastern Burma suffered a severe set-back in central Pa-an when more than a 1,000 soldiers of the recently formed Border Guard Force joined forces with fighters aligned to the Karen National Union. During the last 18 months, the Burma army has attempted to disarm and dismantle ethnic ceasefire groups under its control. The military…